Through the Fingers of Mandos
by Lillian C1
Summary: She can be a school nerd and isn't fun at a party. She always seems like she's about to jump out of her own skin. When fate offers the reason for her strange ways, she rolls her eyes and tries to walk away... Only to find she's stuck. Modern Day AU
1. Prologue

_Many ages before the history that we know, our tale had its strange beginning…_

Long in years but brief in memory was the Noon of Valinor, and it has been recorded that the blessed period came to a close when Melkor was unchained. However, here an amendment must be made to the Annals of Arda, for it was the doom of Aman to receive the taint of darkness long before that time.

It was the time when the captivity of Melkor was drawing to its close. Though he was indeed held fast by Angainor, the chain that had been wrought by Aulë, his restless mind was enough at liberty to roam at will and keep him from complete ignorance of the changes that were taking place in the world. Thus he was able to perceive the arrival of the Firstborn Children into Aman and their subsequent growth in power and knowledge under the tutelage of his brethren. Melkor bristled at the thought of the Quendi, whom he considered a blight upon the darkness he had sought to create, increasing in number and thriving in the protection of the Valar. However, curiosity and thirst for knowledge always got the better of his disgust, and he never ceased to search and ponder the continuing evolution of Arda Marred.

When the period of his banishment drew near to its close, the emergence of a strange presence, a tiny locus about which energy seemed to pulse and twist itself in unnatural forms, tickled and perplexed his mind's ever watchful eye. The new life had begun as a weak presence amid the powers of Arda, flickering at the remotest edges of his consciousness, but quickly it began to grow and take shape. He did not perceive that it was by its own nature powerful, being probably nothing more than an Elven fëa.

_An Elven fëa, nurtured within the unsullied womb of Aman…_

Thoughts of the most malignant kind arose from the many dark possibilities offered by this seemingly insignificant turn of fate, and they unfolded themselves before the mind's eye of Melkor in a delicious web. After an age of imprisonment, the condemned Vala had accomplished little more than to fester in desperate wrath and become as ravenous for vengeance as the werewolves of Angband for the flesh of Eru's children. For this reason alone did the dark lord choose not to dismiss the presence of this strange Elven fëa.

_And why not begin now to offer proper recompense to the powers that be? _pondered Melkor, his longing for action nurtured by confinement. _ A small gesture this would be, perhaps, but this exertion of my will while I am yet piously enduring punishment may prove to be the bitterest blow of all!_

With a practiced precision, he cautiously stretched the dark recesses of his mind and reached outward from his prison in Mandos, north and east across the frozen, broken seas to Middle Earth where his servant dwelt, awaiting the return of his master.

When at last the golden light of Laurelin receded leaving the world to Telperion's care, the Elf, if Elf he was, left his post and hastened stealthily to a small alleyway that ran along one side of the great house. There he found a side door through which the servants of the family might come and go at will. He paused outside the door for a moment and leaned against it as if listening. For some time the stranger stood there unmoving until the mockery of a smile crept upon his face. He then pushed the door open and went inside to a cooking area of sorts.

A young Elf maid bearing a large bundle of blankets burst into the room at that time. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes alight with urgency. She gasped in surprise at the sight of the cloaked stranger, and her burden tumbled from her arms into a heap on the floor.

"You are welcome here," the maid said uncertainly, "but my lord will certainly not be able to see anyone today."

The stranger gave no answer but cast back his hood revealing a fair face framed with a mane of shining gold, and he turned his fiery gaze upon her and held her eyes in a grip of steel. The maid stared unblinkingly back into the blue eyes of the stranger for a moment before her face was changed to a smiling expression.

"My lady has been expecting you," she said dully. "Please follow me."

The stranger nodded slightly in assent and followed the maid through the house to the upstairs rooms. He barely glanced at his surroundings until they passed a room where many Elves were gathered. The stranger stopped to observe them, an expression of curiosity alighting upon his usually impassive features. His mouth twisted into a sardonic smile when he realized he was watching the family of the house and that, judging from the nervous anticipation that permeated the air, they had yet to receive the news.

_Perfect_, he thought to himself. _My arrival could not have been at a better time._

"My lord?"

The stranger turned at the sound of the maid's voice to see her holding a door open for him, her face still frozen into a look of serene contentment. He now returned her smile and brushed past her into the room.

"Your son at long last, my lady!" a feminine voice cooed softly over the hearty wails of an infant.

The lady of the house rested there on a bed as a maid attended her, and another maid hovered about a cradle nearby. Even as she received her newborn son into her arms for the first time, the noblewoman turned when she heard a movement at the door and rested fatigued but questioning eyes upon the stranger. The silvery light of Telperion that filtered through the nearby window played upon her reddish brown tresses. She opened her mouth to speak, but when she met the stranger's gaze, her eyes clouded, and she remained silent. Her maids shared in her dumbness. Naught was heard but the cries of the little Elf.

The stranger strode to the cradle and looked inside to see another squirming infant. It required little effort for him to sense that this was child he had come for, so he proceeded to lift the baby girl from her cradle and stow her in his arms. Remarkably, she did not stir.

Having obtained his master's prize, he turned toward the door, but just before reaching the threshold, he looked upon the resting Elf woman staring mutely after him and said in a voice that was at once hard and silken, "I congratulate you on the birth of your son, my lady."

As the stranger left the house with his small burden, he chuckled almost gleefully to himself. _So easy_, he thought. _The Firstborn Children will fall readily into my master's hands. _

The mother watched with fond pride as her infant son was greeted by his father for the first time.

"_Little Father_ he is indeed," the father said, alluding to the name, _Atarinkë_, that his wife had chosen. What he did not know was that his wife had decided in her heart upon this name long before her son was born. The mother name was chosen through foresight of the child's nature or fate, usually after the child's birth. A strange thing it was that such foresight should come upon her before their son was born. "I shall give him my own name, for his resemblance of me will exceed that of all our sons."

"Curufinwë Atarinkë he shall be then," the mother accorded with a soft smile, but then her brow furrowed and her smile disappeared.

Noticing the apparent change in her mood, her husband asked, "What is it? Are you not pleased with our little son?"

She frowned and said, "Of course, but…I had been so certain I was to have…" Her voice trailed off as a haze fell like a veil over her eyes, and she sighed in frustration because she had forgotten what she would have said. Her husband failed to notice though, so intent was he on their newborn son.

No one marked the flight of the gray-clad stranger as he hastened north, drawing ever closer to the wastes of Araman. Having no desire to return to his abode in the form of one of the Firstborn, his shape shifted to that of a spirit of fire - which he was. Sauron, the greatest of Melkor's servants. As his fiery form sped from the lands of Valinor, he pondered the bundle he carried, unable to fathom its importance to his master.

_Find it,_ his master had commanded from afar. _Find it, and keep it hidden for me._

Whether Melkor was aware that _it_ was actually an Elven child Sauron did not know, but he was more than a little intrigued by the idea of the great Vala so eager to have his servant go to such great lengths to abduct a weak, helpless infant when he might just as easily have obtained one from the Elven tribes that remained in Middle Earth. Surely this infant could be of no great worth to them now other than as a means to strike a cruel, albeit paltry, blow against Manwë

As if to confirm to himself the truth of this, he brushed aside the outer blanket so that he might peer into the tiny face of the Elf child, and he found…nothing. He exerted what mental power he was endowed with and searched around him for the child's bright presence, but it was as if she never was.

Moments later, the blankets were thrown to the ground as heaps of ashes.


	2. Chapter 1

_Modern Day_

The peaceful stillness of the early morning was rudely broken by the clock's harsh alarm. The slender young girl standing by the window running a brush through her long hair frowned at the obnoxious sound and immediately shut it off.

"Susan, I wish you would trust me to wake you up in the morning instead of setting that awful alarm," the girl admonished her roommate who was tumbling groggily out of bed. "I never have problems waking up early."

"I know that, weirdo," Susan grumbled, "but how do I know you're not going to go off on another one of your pajama hikes when it's time for me to get up?"

"I might be capable of a little more consideration than that," the other replied, mildly affronted.

Susan shrugged. "I'm not taking any chances with this class. More than two tardies and the professor starts deducting from your grade. She claims that missing so much class would 'gravely inhibit our mastery of the material.'"

The other girl regarded her roommate with a bemused expression. "Isn't this just P.E.? I think your professor takes her subject area a little too seriously."

"Just a little," Susan agreed as she trudged to the bathroom. As she reached the threshold, she turned to look at her roommate, something akin to envy shining from her eyes as she took in her impeccably beautiful appearance despite the hour. "Anna, I have to ask. Have you been up for hours, or did you just wake up like that?"

Anna turned a quizzical gaze upon her before answering, "I've been up for a while."

Susan rolled her eyes and shut herself in the bathroom, but not before spouting a "whatever!" over her shoulder.

A half-hour later, the girls emerged from their dorms, each hefting a heavy backpack. They made a rather odd pair: Susan with her short, curly blond hair and ample figure beside Anna's tall, thin build and long, sleek brown hair. Upon further observation, one would note that their personalities were as mismatched as their appearances. Susan had much ado keeping her mind on her coursework, or rather she had yet to realize that her courses were the primary reason she attended college. Her carelessly indolent personality was irresistible to the younger college crowd and earned her the position of social director in her sorority. Fortunately for her, she befriended Anna who had the patience and was willing to pull her down to earth long enough to pass her general courses. Anna cringed at the thought of any sorority-sponsored event, having been dragged by Susan to numerous wild frat parties. Anna was considered by Susan to be socially inept as she vastly preferred to go out with just a few close friends or, as Susan often described it, satisfy her "over-achiever instinct" by being involved in every scholastic organization that she thought would look good on her resume. Neither came close to understanding the other or even attempted to, but both were content with their unlikely friendship. As they made their way out of their dormitory, Susan bubbled with lively chatter as her friend listened and nodded, every once in a while sharing in her laughter.

"Please tell me you're not going to shy away from the Mardi Gras thing tomorrow," Susan pleaded. "Remember, I told you I was going to hold you to it after you skipped out on New Year's."

"Don't worry, I remember my _oath_," Anna replied with mock gravity. "And you know how I am about my oaths."

Susan blithely nodded. "It's all just a part of your being so incredibly neurotic. I hope you'll loosen up at the party. You've been too tense lately and _extremely_ unsocial - even for you."

Anna sighed in slight frustration. She was not wholly willing to disclose all her concerns to her kind, but often thoughtless, roommate.

"I don't know what's wrong with me lately," was what Anna was willing to confess as she absently fingered the pendant on her necklace. "I almost feel like my mind is being pulled in different directions or something, and I can't seem to connect with anyone anymore. That's sort of why I've been making a fuss about this party. I'm getting to where I feel really uncomfortable around people. I mean, I know I have always been that way but never to the point that I was anxious or even afraid. Rather sad, isn't it? Especially since I was thinking about going into teaching…"

Susan grimaced. "Trust me, the idea of teaching physics is what is depressing you. You should teach French instead and get some use out of your second major. I don't think French would suck the life out of you."

"Neither would physics," Anna protested.

"Physics and modern language," Susan snorted. "Lovely combination. Why don't you just let it all go and become an art major like me? We're a lot less anal on that side of campus, so maybe you wouldn't get those anxiety attacks."

"I would not call that 'letting it all go'," Anna laughed. "Although I did consider studying art history once. It took me forever to decide on my majors. There were so many things I wanted to do."

"Okay," Susan mumbled wearily. "So be a professional student."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Do _not_ try playing guidance counselor. What is this, the third career you've recommended for me in the past two minutes? As tempting as the position of eternal pupil is, I don't think my scholarship would last that long."

The girls paused in front of the kinesiology building where Susan would have her P.E. class. Susan glanced at a large poster taped to one of the glass doors and cocked an eyebrow.

"Well there's an easy solution to your problem," Susan said. "The University Scholarship Pageant. You could win that as long as you get past the talking-to-people part."

Anna shook her head firmly. "I think you and I both know how ridiculous that would be," she said as she smoothed a lock of hair back over her ear that the wind had impertinently brushed out of place. A seemingly insignificant habit, but Susan understood it and sighed.

"I swear, you are as self-conscious as you are neurotic," Susan remarked as she boldly reached up and swept Anna's hair from both sides of her face. "You know, what you consider flaws actually add quite a bit of character to your appearance. Live a little, and wear your hair up once in a while, like at the party for instance – ugh, did I just sound like my mother?"

"The party is already going to be a bit of a trial for me without my exposing my…um, flaws," Anna said dryly, "but I appreciate the thought behind it. I might even take back what I said about you being a guidance counselor. See you at lunch!"

With a wave, Anna strode off toward the science and technology center.

The early morning physics lab students were a surprisingly lively bunch, being comprised of junior and senior level students who shared an uncharacteristic enthusiasm for their major of study. Anna always felt she fit in better among them than among Susan's sorority sisters, though she knew better than to admit it to her. She reached the lab fifteen minutes early and greeted the students already assembled there as she dumped her backpack on the floor and settled into her usual seat.

"Hey Anna," the student beside her asked, "are you ready for the test on Wednesday?"

"Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me," Anna groaned as she let her head sink heavily onto the desk.

"Sorry, thought it was a safe question," the other replied with a chuckle. "I just figured you probably had all the material down weeks ago."

"No really, I meant it. Thank you," Anna said, raising her head to regard the student speaking to her. "I had really forgotten about it."

He raised an eyebrow at that. "You? How scary is that?"

"You'll do fine, Anna," Dr. Boaz commented as he strode into the room, having caught the last of the conversation.

"Sure, if I study at Mardi Gras tomorrow," Anna mumbled as she pulled out the lab assignment for that day.

Her annoyance faded as she read through the procedure. They would be working with prisms that day, an activity she had been eagerly anticipating. For some reason she could not explain, Anna had always taken great delight in the study of the properties of light. The topic she had chosen as the basis for the large project she recently completed for the class was fiber optics, and her enthusiasm for the project at once pleased and amused the professor.

"I need your attention up here for a minute before you get started," Dr. Boaz began at exactly thirty minutes after the hour. "I have some information some of you might be interested in: your project evaluations."

A collective gasp sounded throughout the room as students exchanged nervous but excited glances.

_Already? _Anna wondered. They had just submitted their projects the week before.

"You have the reps from Columbia to thank for the promptness of my grading," Dr. Boaz explained as he handed out the evaluations. "When they came on Friday, I didn't think they would spend much time in our department, but they ended up spending the entire afternoon looking over your projects. I don't know if any of you were aware of this, but they came pretty eager for candidates for their graduate programs, especially in liberal arts and sciences…And I'll just add that one project in particular highly intrigued them."

"Hmmm…I wonder whose that could be?" one student asked as he turned and looked at Anna, waggling his eyebrows. It was the same student who had teased her earlier.

"Don't worry, Brian," Dr. Boaz said, having heard his comment. "They liked your project too. In fact, they were quite impressed with everyone's work, but they only have so many scholarships to offer the students in our department, or I should say _one_." He regarded Anna with a smile.

"Not bad, Miss Darcy," Brian remarked, grinning cheekily at Anna. "Guess you'll be moving to New York, huh?"

Anna sat up straighter in her seat, stunned hope shining from her features. She desperately wanted to go on to graduate school next year, but her prospects for doing so had always been uncertain. Though her undergraduate studies had been fully funded by scholarships, her living expenses the past four years had all but drained the money she had inherited from her family; and however impressive her grade point averages might be in her majors of study, the grades she received in many of her general studies courses were less than stellar. A scholarship at a university in her hometown was more than she had ever hoped for.

"I'll give you the details after class, Anna. Now, I suggest you all get started on the lab. This one's a little more time consuming than the others."

Strangely enough, Anna found it exceedingly difficult to turn her attention to prisms.


	3. Chapter 2

The next evening, an outrageously made-up and coiffed Susan, clothed in a fluffy orange, green and purple ensemble, paced furiously in front of the bathroom door. Every once in a while, she paused to listen and then pound on the door.

"Anna, come on! You're _not_ going to get out of this one! Especially now!"

"Why especially now?" Anna's voice called out irritably.

"Because if you're going to go enroll in graduate school at some geeky university next year, you're going to have to take advantage of every serious party opportunity that comes your way before then."

A weary sigh was heard within.

"Since when have I ever taken advantage of 'serious party opportunities'?"

"True," Susan admitted, crossing her arms and echoing Anna's sigh.

At last, Anna emerged, sporting much more conservative attire than her flamboyant roommate. Susan gasped in horror at the sight.

"What happened to the hair?" she demanded, pointing to Anna's hair, which was arranged as usual about her shoulders.

"Oh, get over it, Susan!" Anna growled.

"No! I will not get over it. The deal was the outfit or the hair," Susan insisted, as she held up the screaming yellow vinyl suit she had found for Anna.

"I propose a new deal," Anna suggested in a clipped tone. "No hair and no outfit or _no party_."

Susan shrugged and tossed the hideous suit over her shoulder. "Whatever. Let's go, we're wasting time."

She took hold of Anna's arm and dragged her out the door. Anna childishly dragged her feet the whole way, but Susan didn't release her arm until they arrived at the front door of her sorority house.

Anna gritted her teeth as she felt the ground beneath her vibrate to the rhythm of the music that pounded within. Susan bounced with excitement and pushed herself through the door into an ocean of feathers, beads and color combinations quite as gaudy as the one she was wearing. Anna soon lost her to the masked crowd and was left to fend for herself.

For a while, she toured the premises, finding some amusement in surveying the costumes. Every now and then, she stopped to speak to someone she knew or to be accosted for her "inappropriate" attire. However, after an hour, she became bored and stepped outside onto the porch to escape the stale air within.

Others, including Susan, apparently had had the same idea and were arranged in various clusters about the porch. Susan, still wearing her orange, feathered mask, was speaking to a tall, strangely clad man wearing a mask that appeared gray and obscure in the smoky, lamp lit darkness. Among the mingled voices, Susan's was distinctly heard, and Anna pricked up her ears to hear her conversation.

"That is so amazing! I would never have come up with that! I don't really think that would apply to me though, because I always got along with my mother. Maybe I was dreaming about my sister. I always fought with her…wait! There's Anna! You should try to figure out some of her dreams. She has some weird ones, and they're always about glowing things. Glowing eyes, glowing trees, glowing jewelry, you name it."

"Susan, what are you talking about?" Anna asked laughingly as she walked over and joined them.

"Anna! This is Gary, a very cool pysch major. He's been interpreting my dreams, and you know what? He tells me I have a lot of suppressed violence to deal with. But now it's your turn!"

"Glowing things, huh?" Gary commented as he blew a ring of cigarette smoke. "What's your major?"

"Physics and French," Anna replied, observing the man with a touch of skepticism.

"Yep, I told ya," Susan whispered loudly in Gary's ear while flashing a teasing grin in Anna's direction. "She's a school nerd. Have fun!" With that, Susan tossed her friend a wink and trotted off to join another group.

Gary looked after her, shaking his head and chuckling, then turned back to Anna. "She'd make for a great case study, you know. I'll keep her in mind when I start my dissertation." When his new companion failed to respond, he continued, "So tell me about glowing things."

"My dreams aren't so different from anyone else's," Anna replied shortly.

"I never implied that they were," he replied with an easy smile that made Anna altogether uneasy. "Well, why don't we humor Susie over there, and you tell me what you've been dreaming about recently."

"Nothing special. Really," Anna said, her discomfort becoming more apparent.

"Okay…so how about these nothing-special dreams?" Gary pressed, smiling slightly at her reserve.

"Well, there was one about being a child I think," she said casually, trying to imitate the man's relaxed nonchalance.

"You 'think'?" the man queried. Anna could almost hear a smirk in his voice.

"Well, I can't really be sure. It was kind of strange. I knew somehow I was a baby in a crib, and I could clearly hear another baby close by, but everything else was vague. The light was all silvery blue, like nothing you would see in real life. Then, I saw this black thing looking down at me."

"Could be an actual memory."

"I doubt it," was Anna's curt reply. "I don't have much of a childhood to remember. I was brought up by the state of New Jersey, so to speak, at least until I was…well, until I became a teenager."

"Yeah, then what?" Gary asked, turning to dump his cigarette ashes on a nearby tray.

"Then I found a family and moved to New York City. I was fortunate because my adoptive parents were very supportive. They made up for a lot of what I had missed."

"So, if they were so great, what made you decide to go all the way to Pennsylvania for college?"

Anna shrugged and looked away uncomfortably.

"Sorry, guess I'm being nosy," Gary said, though Anna could sense he was not particularly regretful.

"It's alright. They passed away during my sophomore year."

"Ouch, sorry again," he murmured. "What happened?"

"I guess you could say old age finally caught up with them."

"Old age?" He frowned, shaking his head. "So were they geezers, or are you just older than you look?"

"A little bit of both, I guess," Anna replied coldly with a strange glint in her eyes.

Gary noticed the change and chuckled. "Okay! Well, I think we both know you didn't spring up out of nowhere, so how do you know that your dream isn't a memory of your real family? A memory that is just now resurfacing? That happens a lot to people. You see or hear something that triggers the memory of some long forgotten event from your past, a memory that your mind has been repressing."

"An intriguing theory," Anna commented, "but I'm a little reluctant to take that particular dream seriously. The black, shadowy person was scary. So what is your diagnosis? What does my dream reveal about me? Suppressed violence like Susan?"

Gary assessed her with a long, measuring look. "No," he said at last, "something's there alright, but it's not violence."

Anna laughed derisively. "Very impressive. Okay, it's your turn. What's with the mask?"

"Hey, I'm not done with you yet!" Gary protested. "What's with the star? Or is it a snowflake?"

"The star?" Anna asked with a look of bewilderment that was immediately followed by a sigh of exasperation when he pointed to the pendant that hung a few inches below the hollow of her throat: a silver star with many rays, set with white gems that reflected the lamplight in beams of blue and gold. "Oh! I should have mentioned it before. It's a relic from the past that my mind's been repressing. Those social workers told me it was the only thing I was wearing when I was found."

She unclasped the necklace and offered it to Gary who examined it with interest. Turning it over in his hand, he brushed a finger over the small engraving there. "What's this? Hieroglyphics?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Anna admitted with a frown. "There's another story behind that, but I won't go into it. Suffice it to say that the social workers stumbled upon someone who could interpret the writing. It stands for _Annalië_, whatever that means. They all just assumed it was my name and called me Anna ever since. I guess Annalië was a little much for a homeless orphan."

"One soap opera after another," Gary remarked as he returned her necklace. "As for _my_ dreams, we don't need to delve into them. They're just your average I-accidentally-came-to-school-naked kind of dreams."

"No, let's _not_ delve into them," Anna agreed, wrinkling her nose.

At that moment, Susan bounced in between them and eyed each one with curiosity. "So, what d'ya say, doc? Is she hopeless?"

"As far as your opinion is concerned, yes," Gary said.

Weary of her roommate's teasing jabs, however innocently intended, and even wearier of the party, Anna interrupted them, "Susan, I'm going back to the dorm. I need to finish studying for my test tomorrow. Gary, it was nice to meet you." Before Susan could protest, she turned on her heel and strode off the porch and down the sidewalk.

The northern winters had grown steadily colder and the winds steadily harsher over the years, as if the elements were slowly rallying to push her kindred from the North with one final sweep of power.

Morgoth would move soon. She was certain of this. Her heart told her she would never again see a peaceful winter in Dorthonion.

The winds moaned throughout the fortress as if to confirm and augment her chill sense of foreboding. She felt the absence of her lord keenly and longed for his return, but he had left with all the forces at his command to defend his brother whose vague but urgent plea for aid had reached the fortress a few hours earlier.

She leaned out the window of her bedchamber and strained her senses northward to where she knew her husband and his brother were coming face to face with some unknown evil. The winds raised their voices to greet her before their mournful music slowed to a distinct whisper in her ear: _Lost…The House of Finarfin is lost…The House of Fëanor will soon follow_.

Her will struggled against the truth behind the evil words. In defiance she reached out with all her strength to touch her husband's bright presence, but she could no longer sense him. Nevertheless, she tenaciously searched for him, calling his name frantically into the night, heedless of the possible dangers of doing so. After what seemed like hours, she received some recompense for her efforts, but it was naught but the whisper of a presence, a brief mental caress. A farewell.

Her body collapsed beneath the sudden weight of grief onto the stone floor, and she remained there until she was found by one of her maids. The girl gasped in shock at the sight of her strong, proud mistress lying senseless on the floor, and she hastened to arouse her.

"My lady must have heard," she said in anguished tones. "Lord Angrod is-"

The noblewoman sharply raised her hand to cut her off before she could utter the dread words.

"We must be gone at once, my lady!" her maid urged.

Her mistress did not answer but allowed her maid to help her to her feet. As she did so, a strange light in the distance caught her eyes, and she gazed out her window in fascination as a thread of gold was sewn across the northern horizon.

"It comes, my lady! Do you not see? We must away at once!"

"What is it?" her mistress asked, watching transfixed as the line of gold grew brighter.

"Please, let us go!" Tears fell freely down the maid's cheeks. "Or we will perish as well! Let's go, Anna, let's go!"

"What did you call me?" she asked as she turned to her maid in confusion. She gasped in surprise when she saw that a diminutive girl with short blond curls had taken her place.

"Please Anna, wake up! It's not like you to sleep in on a test day."

Anna jerked her head up at the sound of her friend's voice and looked about her uneasily. Susan stood close by regarding her with a bemused expression. Anna looked down, and the rumpled condition of her textbook and papers told her quite clearly that she had dozed off at her desk while studying.

"At least I _think _you were sleeping," Susan continued with a smirk. "It's hard to tell because you always sleep with your-"

"I know, I know!" Anna interrupted irritably. "And don't tell me. It always freaks you out, right? Just like my dreams and my memories and-"

"Whoa! You're still mad about last night, aren't you? I was just teasing, Anna. That's what I do," Susan said as she watched her roommate stuff papers into her folder and then dive into her drawers to find something to wear.

"I know," Anna repeated in a less harsh tone. "I don't want to talk about this now, though. As you said, I'm running late. And aren't you supposed to be in P.E.?"

"Nah. I'm not feeling so dedicated today. Maybe next week. Besides, I just got back from the party." Susan nonchalantly plopped herself on Anna's desk, letting her feet dangle back and forth beneath her. A small, mischievous smile played upon her lips as she observed Anna race about the room. "Gary told me he likes you," she declared in a singsong voice. "He said you have a 'genuine air of mystery' that he really digs."

"Genuine air of mystery, huh? Interesting," Anna commented with a sneer as she jerked on a pair of tennis shoes. "And I didn't even need a silly mask to pull it off."

Susan rolled her eyes in exasperation. "No need to get snooty, missy! Save that for the guys at Columbia."

"Will do," Anna retorted, making no attempt to conceal her sarcasm. "I'll see you at lunch, I guess, if I make it through the test." She hefted her backpack and sprinted from the room without looking behind her.

"Oh, don't get all dramatic! You always get so dramatic! You'll do fine!" Susan called after her.

Anna did do fine on the test. In fact, she did better than fine and finished at least fifteen minutes ahead of everyone else. When the professor later returned the tests and praised Anna for receiving another A, she simply shrugged and made a mental note that she performs best under extreme pressure.

When Anna returned to her dorm, she found her roommate fast asleep, still dressed in her masquerade outfit. She shook her head and chuckled at the sight, predicting that it would be at least three o'clock in the afternoon before Susan would roll out of bed and change into something else.

After scribbling a note to Susan, Anna pulled on some gym clothes and left the dormitory in pursuit of her favorite running trail. It wound through a lovely wooded area and led one around the small lake that served as the eastern border of the campus. She had run cross-country during her freshman and sophomore years but was forced to give it up when she took on a second major. However, she still managed to make time nearly every day for at least a three-mile run.

This day though, she opted for a five-mile run. She needed to think. Her increasingly realistic dreams were putting her on edge. As long as she could remember, her dreams had a strange clarity that would either intrigue or terrify her. They often made her feel as if she were seeing a world through another person's eyes, and the world was always a strange one, filled with things she could neither describe nor comprehend.

When she reached a certain age though, her dreams took on a significant change. Whereas before it seemed as if she beheld events of another person's lifetime, Anna began to feel that she herself had passed into the world in which they took place and was living within it. In this world, people identified her by her _other _name. She had a family and friends, a history… and even a husband. She flushed as she recalled some of _those_ dreams.

Anna had previously attributed her dreams to wishful thinking. They were probably typical among those whose situations in life were similar to hers. However, the dream that had disturbed her slumber the night before had deeply unsettled her. It was not that the dream was particularly frightening. She had had much worse. It was the feelings it had aroused inside her. She felt as if her heart had been truly wrenched from her, and she grieved still. When Susan had accosted her that morning, she responded to her teasing with a sharpness that proceeded from the bitter pain of loss.

_The loss of what? My dream husband? _Anna thought, deeply frustrated with the folly of her feelings. _Susan's right. I'm letting myself get way too tense, and now it's to the point that I'm approaching insanity. Perhaps I should look Gary up and talk to him about getting myself committed._

Anna had immersed herself so deeply in her thoughts that she failed to notice a small, yellow caution sign and heedlessly passed it by. The angry voice of a school maintenance worker reached her ears and jarred her back to the present.

"Hey girl! You just plowed through my wet cement! Didn't you see the sign? I thought you had to be able to read before you got to college!"

Anna spun on her heel and favored the man with a withering look. "What are you so angry about? I didn't leave a single mark! The cement must already be dry!"

The man turned to examine the cement and found that it was indeed without even a hint of a footprint. Scratching his head in bewilderment, he gingerly tapped the toe of his shoe on the cement and then cursed when he left a prominent mark.

Anna shrugged and continued down the trail at a furious pace.


	4. Chapter 3

When Anna felt she had sufficiently exhausted herself, she struck a path that led to the student center. Once she reached it, she found that the cafeteria was unusually crowded for a Wednesday afternoon, so she quickly purchased a bottle of water and ducked into the university's cyber café. Anna sighed in relief when she found it relatively empty.

It was an unusual place to spend an afternoon. The café was always kept fairly dark to satisfy the somber aesthetics of its regular customers, who themselves looked as if they had not seen daylight for years. Neon lights mingled with the soft glow of the monitors to create a bluish aura about the room and make Anna's white shirt shine with a ghoulish light.

Anna found an uninhabited corner of the psychedelic maze and keyed her password into a computer as she eased into a seat. When the homepage appeared, she automatically clicked the mailbox icon.

Two new messages.

The first was an email from Columbia with an attached travel itinerary confirming her upcoming campus visit. She perused the attachment and made a mental note to request that bus travel be arranged en lieu of air – she hated to fly.

After closing the attachment, the other message caught her eye and caused her to frown in puzzlement. The subject was one word only. _Annalië_. She didn't recognize the sender but thought she could easily guess at _his_ identity.

Anna considered just deleting the email unread, but her cursor was drawn irresistibly to the link that would open the message.

_So you just had a birthday. How old does that make you?_

Anna emerged from the cyber café walking at a brisk pace and clutching a single paper in her fist. _What's the word I'm trying to think of right now? _she inwardly seethed._ Officious! That's it! That is Gary in one word! Obnoxious would also do very well!_

She failed to notice the table where several of her fellow senior-level physics majors were seated until a couple of them waved to get her attention. She debated whether she should just return the wave and keep walking but decided instead to join them and sat next to Brian.

"How'd you all do on the test?" she asked as she snatched a chip from Brian's bag.

Most everyone at the table responded amiably enough save one younger student who muttered darkly under his breath. He was a scrawny boy barely over nineteen and usually pleasant humored, but Anna watched in puzzlement as he pouted over his food.

"Everything okay, Zachary?" Anna asked.

"He's just down because you're the only one who got the invite to Columbia" Brian explained. "The number of accolades he received for his – _ahem_- project didn't quite meet expectations."

"That's what I get for choosing a controversial subject. The truly brilliant are always misunderstood," Zachary declared, shaking his head and pretending not to notice the amusement of his companions.

"What was your subject?" Anna asked.

The table answered in unison, "Time travel."

"As in Einstein's theories?"

"They always seemed a little muddy to me," Brian remarked as Zachary raised his hands to the ceiling in incredulity for the ignorance he was forced to put up with.

"How did you do your project over time travel?" Anna wondered aloud.

"I came up with a theory," Zachary replied, "but I don't have all the kinks worked out yet to give it the support it needs. I mean, as if I could really accomplish _that_ in time for the project deadline! I had some good groundwork laid, though, and that's what I turned in to Dr. Boaz."

"So what's the theory?" Brian questioned. "You never really explained it to us."

Zachary eased back in his seat with a satisfied smile as if he had been waiting for someone to ask. Stroking his chin thoughtfully in an excellent mad scientist impression, he began, "According to the theory of relativity, time only flows in one direction. You can go forward but not back, right?"

The others nodded.

"Well, I think I can put together a plausible basis for the theory that you _can_ go back – but only if you have already gone forward. Einstein's belief that you can travel through time was based on the idea that the speed of light is always constant while time and distance are subject to fluctuations depending on the point of reference. So like if Brian here does us a favor and boards a shuttle bound for the Outer Rim and if his ship travels at the speed of light, time will pass slower on the ship than it does on earth."

"As chapter 18 of our text book explained most eloquently," Brian put in sarcastically. "So where does your theory come in?"

Zachary made a face at him and continued, "I think after traveling forward through time, so to speak, you will have become part of a virtual timeline while earth still goes by real time. I think you can go back to a place on the real timeline by reversing the whole process."

"What, you mean reverse the speed of light? If that even exists, is it even possible?" another student asked.

"Sure! Through white holes! You know, the opposite of black holes?"

A collective groan sounded around the table accompanied by a "Zachary, you're so full of it!" that was answered by a "Hey guys, why not?!", all of which drew the bewildered attention of several other students in the cafeteria.

"You all remember talking about it! Black holes undergoing a reversal in time – negative time, so to speak – appear as white holes. A black hole and white hole are at opposite ends of a cosmic worm hole. Read my paper," Zachary explained, waving away the skepticism of his listeners with an idle movement.

"So Zachary," Brian commented with a grin, "You mentioned some kinks that had to be dealt with? Were there really very many of those?"

"Okay, laugh it up already!" Zachary cried, raising his palms defensively. "I had some good calculations to turn in with my project that Dr. Boaz said might be a start. The kinks I ran into involved the reversal time flow forming more of a curve than a straight line, so you don't end up going back to the point on the real timeline where you'd think you would go. So Brian-"

"Uh huh, and your 'calculations' showed you this? They were…curvy?" Anna interrupted.

"Sure, why not? So if Brian had aged 20 years on his trip to the Outer Rim, he might not return to the real timeline at 20 years after his departure. It might be more like 40 years."

"Um, I don't see the going back part," Brian said. "Overall, doesn't that still involve me going forward in time 20 years?"

"Agh! You did go forward…and then back! When you got to Tatooine, you were thousands of years in the future! Then when you traveled through negative time, you went back – but not quite so far back."

By this time Anna's fingers were massaging her temples. She quickly decided that joining her classmates as a means of distraction from the _officious_ email was probably not the best choice.

"Sorry boys," she groaned as she rose from the table. "Star Wars reference no. 2 is always my cue to leave. I'll see you all next Tuesday."

Exiting the student center, Anna glanced down at the paper still clenched in her hand and sighed. A serious talk with Susan – if such a thing were possible- was inevitable.

"Huh?" was Susan's response to the cryptic missive Anna had tossed at her.

"No, not 'huh'. I want to know _who_. Whose email address is that? Gary's?" Anna demanded.

"Anna, I don't think I've ever even activated my own account here, much less memorized anyone's email address."

Anna sighed heavily and collapsed on her bed. "It wouldn't take a genius to figure out my school email address. Did you tell him when my birthday was? And if you did, why would you? It was in January, or that's when my family always celebrated it."

"You know, you answered your own question," Susan observed as she lounged on her own bed against the opposite wall of their dorm. "Why would I tell random people that my roommate's birthday was last month, especially when my own birthday is coming up in April? Really, whether Gary is the one who sent the email or not, it's a little creepy. Personally, I think the creepy factor would be a lot less if Gary was the sender – I promise you he's no more of a weirdo than your average psych major."

Anna conceded the former point but chose not to comment on the latter.

Susan rolled onto her stomach and regarded her roommate with a frown. "I kind of don't understand why the message itself upset you so much. Is it because you don't know your real birthday?"

"Partly," Anna admitted. "I'm more bothered though that the message is trying to imply something – and I don't know what that is. I get the feeling I should."

"The worst implication that it can make is that you're old," Susan said waving her hand in dismissal, "and you act old anyway, so who cares? The message could have been worse. It could have told you the color underwear you're wearing."

Anna humored Susan with a soft chuckle, then both girls fell into a thoughtful silence. The lively chatter of the girls next door drifted through the wall, and Anna idly observed that they were watching _Lost_ on their television.

Susan had her eyes closed, and Anna assumed she had drifted off when she murmured, "Do you want me to talk to Gary about it?"

"No," Anna decided after a moment. "I guess it's really not that important."


	5. Chapter 4

The hand that clasped hers was warm and strong, and it tugged gently to claim her attention. When her eyes focused, she found them caught in a gaze of molten silver. A painfully fair but masculine face smiled upon her, apparently amused by her confusion. He pressed a kiss to her brow and murmured, "It will not be long, Annalië."

"Before when?" she asked.

The strange man did not answer, but his smile broadened.

"Why do I always see you when I dream? ...And why do I feel as if I have always known you?"

The faintest hint of sadness dulled his eyes, but he appeared to have no intention of answering her.

"What is this place?" she pressed. She looked about her, trying to penetrate the fog that impeded her vision.

The other grew slightly more solemn before softly replying, "Home."

Upon hearing that softly uttered word, the fog seeped behind her eyes and yanked the delicate nerves threaded through her skull. Searing throbs wracked her cranium with such ferocity that she was unable to unclench her eyes and witness the reaction of her companion to her sudden bout of pain. She felt delicate fingertips press her temple and heard the strains of a soothing, however unintelligible, mantra that seemed to battle the vicious fog.

Anna's migraine would no longer allow her any sleep, and she awoke seeing stars flash before her vision while she felt her stomach turn on itself. However, as soon as she managed to roll off her bed, the migraine faded to a whisper then fled without a trace.

She had never suffered migraines until recently and could not imagine what could possibly be causing them as she had never been one to fall ill. _I guess it's time to pay my dues_, she mentally grumbled, noting to herself that a gut-wrenching headache coupled with another of her recurring dreams hardly made for a promising start to the school week.

It was still dark, being no more than three-thirty in the morning – early even for Anna. She glanced over to Susan's bed to see if her ordeal had disturbed her roommate and was grateful to see her curled in a tight ball beneath at least four blankets, a slight snore occasionally disturbing the silence.

Knowing she was unlikely to get any more rest before her morning class, she trudged to her little desk and flipped open her laptop. The first thing to catch her eye on the homepage of her student account was the unopened mail icon that hovered over the link to her inbox.

Opening her inbox, a single message waited for her, and her eyes snapped irresistibly to her name in its unabbreviated form. Preferring annoyance to fear, she rolled her eyes at what she imagined to be Gary's continued officiousness and opened the message. She noted, though, that the subject of the message contained her surname as well and that the email address was different from the previous message. It was a campus address.

_Ms. Annalië Darcy,_

_I was once a friend of your parents and learned of their passing a little over a year ago, having had only just returned to the United State from France. I offer my sincere condolences. They were good people, as well you know._

_I served as a board member for the Haddon Heights Children's Home for thirty years – I took the position a few years after your adoption, I believe, so you wouldn't remember me. Shortly before my retirement three years ago, I was given some information concerning you and sent it to your parents before leaving the country. However, I did not realize that the packet I sent was returned to my post office box until I got back to the states. _

_Fortunately – and I must add surprisingly – I find you are a student here. I would like to meet with you and deliver the information in person. I'll be on campus this Friday for most of the day and can meet you at eight o'clock in the morning at the university library. I'll be on the first floor, most likely chatting with the reference librarian._

_Sincerely,_

_Dudley Johnson, Ph.D._

Anna bit her lip as she puzzled this message. She was tempted to rouse Susan, impatient to hear her reaction when she would read it.

Despite Dr. Johnson's assertion otherwise, his name seemed familiar to her. She was certain she had come across the name before, somewhere around campus. Anna typed the name in the school web site's search engine.

_Dr. Dudley Johnson – Department of Anthropology – Lakeside Hall, Room 206._

_He knew my parents years ago. Decades ago!_ was the realization that pulsed through her mind at an ever increasing frequency.

_He knew of _me_ decades ago._

Anna stood and drifted slowly towards the door to their bathroom where they had hung Susan's full length mirror. As best as she was able, she studied her features with a critical eye and not a little trepidation.

She had always tried to keep herself aloof from her parents' extended family and acquaintances. Her mother and father – the Darcys – had accepted this without question, being intuitive enough to realize it was probably the best way to avoid an incredibly awkward situation. It seemed an expedient solution to attend college out-of-state, and naturally she selected her father's alma mater and former place of employment. Of course, she did not count on time so suddenly catching up with their little family and her being the only one to tidy the loose ends left after her parents' passing.

And she also did not count on one of her father's old friends finding her. Anna wondered if the information he possessed would be worth the uncomfortable encounter ahead.

The university library was fairly busy for a Friday morning. Anna noted quite a few frantic students buzzing in and out of the computer lab nearby and did not doubt that many of them had papers due that day. However busy it seemed, the library could easily accommodate massive numbers of students as it was the tallest building on campus and sprawled in all directions.

Anna rarely felt as nervous as she did then, taking slow, measured steps toward the reference desk. A young student with a messy pony tail and fashionable reading glasses sat behind the desk perusing a pristine text book, obviously having been opened only because mid-terms were looming in the distance.

"Can I help you?" she asked when she noticed Anna, the book tossed aside with no apparent regret.

"I was to meet a Dr. Johnson and was wondering if he's been here," Anna answered.

The girl turned and craned her neck to look behind her through glass paneled walls at a secluded office area. "Um, yeah, I think he's still here. What's your name?"

Anna hesitated, then replied, "Annalië Darcy."

The girl frowned at the name before disappearing around the corner. Voices drifted to her ears, one of which was that of an elderly gentleman. Soon the girl returned with an elderly professor on her heels.

The man looked her up and down with a frown. "You're here to see me? You got my message?"

Anna nodded, waiting for the inevitable.

Dr. Johnson rubbed his cleanly shaved chin in confusion. "I may have made a mistake, but the name was so unusual. I thought you would have to be her. I'm looking for an Annalië Darcy who grew up in New Jersey in an orphanage until she was adopted. That would have been about…forty years ago, was it?"

Anna considered this man's confusion for a moment. Her features hardened as she attempted a feasible explanation, "You must mean my mother. I was named after her."

The old professor's eyes' grew large for a moment before he laughed in relief. "I thought it unusual that one of her age might be a resident college student! How can I get in touch with your mother?"

"I can mail whatever information you have to her," Anna offered quickly. "She won't mind my having it."

"Probably not," Dr. Johnson agreed taking an envelope out of a coat pocket, "though I cannot really imagine what this could be. The person who gave it to me was such an odd sort. I have been rather curious about it."

Anna studied him in puzzlement. "You don't know what this is about?"

The professor shrugged, "A strange man came by the children's home asking for an Annalië back when I was still a board member. I just happened to be there on a sort of goodwill visit – it was a holiday, I believe. Anyway, the man was very insistent and made the few ladies on staff that day nervous, so they sent for me knowing I was in the building. Then, I had this agitated man on my hands demanding to know the whereabouts of your mother, and I was the only one present with the clearance to offer him any information. I told him I would by no means disclose your mother's address, but I would be willing to have a message sent. He complied reluctantly, and after I gave him a sheet of letterhead, he wrote the enclosed." He placed the envelope in Anna's trembling hands.

"How bizarre," was the only thing Anna could think of to say.


	6. Chapter 5

As soon as she could without seeming impolite, Anna left Dr. Johnson and retreated to the second floor where many private study and conference rooms were situated.

She was a little ashamed that she had felt the need to lie to the kind gentleman who could be considered one of the last remaining links to her adoptive parents. However, she had learned long ago that she had not the luxury of taking many risks and so had better avoid any further interaction with the old professor.

Before she had taken her leave, she took the opportunity to inform the professor that the letter had most likely been returned because her "grand"parents had sold their home and had since lived in an assisted living facility until their passing. Dr. Johnson seemed profoundly affected by this information, his eyes looking suddenly downcast.

He in turn informed her that he had once studied under her "grand"father at the university where he was now employed. It had been through his intervention that Dr. Johnson had seized upon the opportunity of becoming a member of a board of directors overseeing the welfare of an orphanage in a small town in New Jersey – the very same institution where she had spent her early years. Anna considered that the professor must have once entertained aspirations of a more political nature to have sought such a position.

She was saddened by the thought that she would probably never see the professor again. His dignified kindliness reminded her much of her father.

Having reached the top of the stairs, Anna claimed the first small study room as her own and shut herself securely inside. Then she collapsed in a chair and ripped open the envelope that had been her reason for enduring the confrontation.

She discovered immediately why the letter had been returned to Dr. Johnson and not the orphanage. The letterhead he had alluded to was his own, complete with a printed return address on the envelope. As she unfolded the enclosed missive, she was surprised to see little more than an address scrawled on the paper.

_Commerce Bank_

_500 White Horse Pike_

_Haddon Heights, NJ 08035_

_#12570_

_It must be a safe deposit box_, Anna thought. _Would I even have access to it?_

Twenty minutes later, Anna burst into her dorm to find it empty. She sighed in relief, not really wanting to share this mystery with Susan. She feared she could not do so without sharing other things, and that she was not ready to do. Anna went straight to the wireless phone she and Susan shared and dialed for information.

"Haddon Heights, New Jersey," she responded to the operator's question. After a few moments, she said, "I need to be connected to the Commerce Bank on White Horse."

It took several minutes for Anna to navigate the bank's automated service before she was speaking to an actual representative.

"Commerce Bank of Haddon Heights. How may I direct your call?" a female voice asked.

"I need to speak to someone about my safe deposit box," Anna answered carefully.

"One moment please."

After a couple more minutes, "Commerce Bank. This is Jim."

"I have a safe deposit at your location and no longer have the paperwork for it. I was wondering if I might request another copy?" Anna asked after a moment of thought.

"You don't need the receipt to access your box. If you have a valid form of ID, we can open it for you," Jim replied.

Anna closed her eyes and pressed her lips in a firm line. "I know. However, I currently reside out-of-state and would like to have a copy on hand for my records, especially in case I have to have someone retrieve my possessions for me."

"Sure. Can I get your name and the last four digits of your social?"

_This should be interesting,_ she thought, her heart beginning to pound.

"Annalië Darcy, 3952."

"And your date of birth?"

"January 8, 1954."

"Alright, just a moment."

The faint sound of Jim's fingertips pattering across his keyboard reached her ear. "And your box number, for verification?"

"12570."

"Okay, I just need a mailing address, and you'll receive the records in three to four business days."

Anna slowly released the breath she had been holding.

Almost a week later, she received a manila envelope from Commerce Bank. She tore it open with trembling fingers and pulled out a thin layer of paperwork. Through a quick scan of the papers, she saw that the bank had enclosed a form for authorizing access to a third party.

Once Anna found the principal record for the safe deposit box, she carefully read the details. A "Mark Smith" had begun the transaction and then immediately transferred ownership of the box and its contents to her, having somehow gotten hold of enough of her personal information to do so.

Impatiently, her eyes swept across the contents of the page until she found what she was looking for.

_Item 1: Jewelry – Precious Gems. _

_Description: Ten-pointed star pendant on chain. Silver sterling with diamonds._

_Identifying Marks: Engraving. (Translates to Atarinkë.)_

_Item 2: Sealed Documents._

_Description: Envelope addressed to "Annalië_".

She had never heard of Mark Smith, and the fact that he knew so much of her was disconcerting at the very least. It had been at least a year since the incident at the orphanage, and to the best of her knowledge, he had never used her information for monetary gain. However, she wondered how the bank could have authorized him to purchase a safe deposit box in her name.

Anna contemplated taking a weekend bus trip to New Jersey to claim the contents of the safe. She realized with emotion that whatever the safe was protecting could provide information on her real family. Would the pendant not be a companion piece to the one that hung from her neck? And what would the letter addressed to her reveal?

However, it could be dangerous if this "Mark Smith" were still looking for her. She did not relish the thought of putting herself in the path of a potential stalker.

_He could have found me easily enough by now if he wanted to couldn't he? _Anna considered before her thoughts received a darkly intriguing answer – _maybe he has._

Anna jumped to her feet as an absurdly simple revelation slapped her in the face.

_So you just had a birthday. How old does that make you?_

She lunged for her computer, nearly missing the rolling chair in her hasty dive towards it. Her fingers trembled so badly she was almost unable to release the latch on the laptop, and she cursed aloud at her clumsiness. Susan would have been proud.

After mistyping her password twice, Anna reached her homepage and opened her inbox. Why had she never looked more closely at the email address when she received that message? She had previously only considered it long enough to decide that she did not recognize the sender.

_MS at larsonsmusic dot com_

Anna frowned. MS could be Mark Smith or a half-million other possibilities. It was worth a little investigation though. She entered as a URL and came to a broken link page. Googling 'Larson's Music' yielded better results, but she did not expect to see so many listings with the terms she had used. It took several minutes, but after clicking through the first page of listings, she came across a Larson's Music store that was based in Oklahoma City. Their website included complete contact information.

She dialed the number for the store wondering what she would say if a Mark Smith was employed there.

"Thank you for calling Larson's Music. This is Amy. How may I help you?"

"Is Mark Smith there?"

"Umm…hold on." Over the pounding of her heart, Anna heard the girl ask someone in a bewildered tone if a Mark Smith had ever worked there.

Amy's voice returned to the phone. "I'm sorry. Mark hasn't worked here for a while."

A dead end.


	7. Chapter 6

Anna was never able to discover anything else about the elusive Mark Smith, but neither did he make any further attempts to contact her. Thus, the two remaining weeks before spring break passed uneventfully – save the migraines that unfortunately became so frequent a campus PA prescribed some pain relievers.

Before she could take a breath after mid-term exams, Anna found herself required to set everything else aside to prepare for her trip to Columbia University. The day of her departure, she surveyed her side of the closet that she and Susan shared with a frown. A large travel bag lay open on her bed half packed with what Susan would call her "lil' miss schoolgirl attire".

Her roommate was sitting cross-legged on her own bed watching her progress but clearly lost in her own thoughts. Anna would be catching a bus for New York that afternoon, and Susan had not quite taken time to cope with the idea of not having her friend around during spring break.

"This is going to be the most depressing spring break ever," Susan moaned.

"Quit your whining! It won't be bad. You're getting to go home, after all. You haven't been home in ages."

Susan grimaced. "Yeah but I have to figure out how to tell my mom I'm going to have to retake P.E. P.E.!" She fell backwards onto her bed with a dramatic flair.

"Susan, you're a second-year senior. I doubt she will let you retake P.E. Besides, the semester is not over yet. You have almost a month to schmooze your professor into giving you a passing grade."

"Maybe so," Susan agreed glumly. "What are you so depressed about your wardrobe for?"

"I just have this uneasy feeling that something will come up during the trip that I'll be underdressed for," Anna murmured.

"Awww, don't let yourself get nervous over silly stuff," Susan admonished. "I'd be more worried about the crazies you're going to meet along the way. I still can't believe you turned down a first class plane ticket in favor of the bus!"

Anna frowned. "You know how I hate to fly! Besides, I like the idea of taking a road trip in the spring. Could you check to make sure I packed my iPod?"

"What?" Susan cried in mock surprise. "You mean you're going to wear headphones in public?"

Anna favored Susan with her best smoldering glare until she relented and leaned over to peer in Anna's travel bag.

"Ipod, check! Susan's farewell gift to Anna, double check!" Susan called out with a grin.

In answer to her questioning frown, Susan pulled out the iPod and scrolled to the playlist menu before handing it to her.

"_Songs Susan Wishes She Had Written_," Anna read slowly from the menu. "This is great, Susan. Are they all from your collection?"

"Some. Others I bought in iTunes. If you can't stand some of the songs, you can delete them from your library. It won't hurt my feelings," Susan said with sincere nonchalance.

Ignoring the latter, Anna returned the iPod to her bag. "Thank you, Susan," she said. As soon as she spoke, she paused in her movements and gazed out the window, a strange, distant expression descending upon her features. "Thank you, Susan," she repeated in a softer voice. "You have always been a kind friend, and I'll never forget that."

All traces of mirth drained from Susan's face as she observed her roommate's peculiar change of mood. "Are you going to be alright by yourself?" she asked.

The sound of genuine concern coming from Susan brought Anna immediately out of her reverie. She shook her head and chuckled, "It's not as if I'm leaving for Columbia for good. I haven't officially accepted their offer and neither have they officially declared me the recipient of that scholarship. I still have to go through some interviews before that's confirmed."

"Oh come on!" Susan exclaimed. "They're practically rolling out the red carpet! It's as good as a sure thing!"

Anna smiled. "I probably wouldn't get the red carpet treatment if they knew I wouldn't go to their school without the scholarship."

Susan nodded absently and watched Anna finish her packing in silence. She remembered the time when she first met Anna, who was then an incoming freshman. Susan, at that time a sophomore, was representing her sorority during freshman orientation. Her task was to lure as many unsuspecting, wide-eyed freshman girls as possible to the sorority rush. Standing apart from a crowd of people whose freshness from high school was painfully obvious was a tall, elegant young woman who seemed to move as if she thought herself a ballerina. What struck Susan was not her striking features but her air of self-possession, so different from the anxious novices that bustled around her. However, she could also clearly see that the young woman was painfully reserved to the point that every person in the room was probably in the process of invading her personal space. The first thought that entered Susan's mind was, _Well, I'll never get _her _to sign up!_ She was right, of course, but that did not stop them from becoming friends.

Susan sighed forlornly. She had the rather depressing feeling that she would lose her friend in the same way she had lost all the other friends whose paths in life had diverged from hers. No matter what advances in communication would be made over the years, Susan knew from experience that, with the strain of time and distance, their bond of friendship would gradually thin until Anna might as well be living in another world altogether.

A few hours later, Susan peeked into the room she and Anna shared and was surprised to see that half of her roommate had disappeared under the bed.

"Umm…Anna?" Susan called, stifling a giggle at the sight of her normally stoic friend in such a compromising position. "Are you ready to go? The van is waiting."

"Just a minute. I'm looking for…aha!" Anna emerged from under her bed triumphantly waving an old book through the air. "I was looking for this. I never go anywhere without it, you know. We can go now."

"_Pride and Prejudice_? Big yawn. Normal people get sentimental and clingy over childhood stuffed animals and baby blankets, and you get that way over a book!"

Anna frowned reprovingly. "It's only one of the best books ever written, and it has kept me company over the years." She lovingly stroked the worn cover before stowing the book in her bag. "Besides, I want it for the long trip."

"Come on," Susan urged. "I don't want to tell Dr. Peters we are making him late for our mural project because you couldn't find _Pride and Prejudice_."

"Have I really made you all late?" Anna asked in concern as she shouldered her travel bag and pulled out the handle of the rolling case in which her laptop was stored.

Susan shrugged and relieved Anna of her laptop. "No biggie. We're always late, no matter what happens. I guess it's one of those right-brained artist things."

True to his reputation within the university art department, Dr. Peters was as lively behind the wheel as he was before a canvas. Thus he succeeded in transporting Anna to the station fifteen minutes before her bus was scheduled to leave. Somewhat shaken by the drive, Anna stepped unsteadily onto the sidewalk and might have stumbled had not Dr. Peters reached out his arm in time.

"Steady there, Miss Darcy! Getting to New York in one piece would be a good thing," the professor quipped. "Now you all had better make some quick good byes, 'cuz we're due to paint some cows on a wall in twenty minutes."

"Oh, go wait in the car, and I'll be there in a minute!" Susan ordered with an audacity that would have stunned her classmates, but she was never one to simper before school authorities.

Anna chuckled and embraced her friend. "Let's humor him, Susan. He was, after all, nice enough to give me a ride up here."

The tiniest hint of worry seeped into Susan's eyes as she looked at her friend. She had a nagging feeling that if she let her friend go on this trip, she would never come back. Knowing Anna would dismiss it as being silly, she kept it to herself, but the feeling did not disappear. In fact, as she watched her friend give her a final wave before climbing onto the bus, it became almost a certainty.

_Get over it, Susan, _she thought as she returned to the van. _It's just for a week._

It was with a rather peculiar group of passengers that Anna began her trip to New York. Nearly the entire back section of the bus was occupied by young twenty-somethings who had an apparent predilection for the color black. Further towards the middle was a small group of gaunt, gray-complexioned people, perhaps a family, each staring vaguely at some point in mid air. A more normal variety of passengers had situated themselves towards the front of the bus but had unfortunately left no room for Anna among them, so she had to content herself with a seat across the aisle from the gray family.

As the bus pulled from the station, Anna looked about her, uneasily hugging her two pieces of luggage, which the driver had allowed her to carry on, to her sides. Slowly though, her uneasiness became a tension that spread throughout her limbs and concentrated itself within her mind. Anna recognized the painful sensations with dismay and groaned when a familiar throb of pain twisted its way through her cranium. She hunched forward, pretending to be interested in the contents of her bag but actually bracing herself for the spasms that would follow. Fortunately, when they did follow, they were increasingly less intense than the first, and she forced herself to breathe normally.

Anna would very much like to agree with the PA that these occasional spasms were nothing more than common migraines, but deep down, she suspected it was a little more complicated. The seeming attacks would come upon her suddenly, sometimes leaving just as quickly and other times lingering for hours. It was during these times that the strange sensation of her mind being pulled away was the most acute. After half an hour or so, she began to relax a little and opened her bag to find her copy of _Pride and Prejudice_.

She was almost through the third chapter when a sweetly elderly, feminine voice spoke beside her, "My, you are a pretty thing, aren't you!"

Anna turned in surprise to see a lady, who appeared to be the eldest member of the gray family, smiling at her. Anna colored and uneasily returned the lady's smile.

"Fairy tale pretty!" the lady added.

The middle-aged man sitting beside her stirred in his sleep and murmured, "Don't bother the nice lady, Mom."

"Oh hush!" the lady scolded her son. Turning back to Anna, she said in a low voice, "Never mind him. Traveling has never agreed with him. He was always frightfully carsick when he was little. Buses don't bother him near as badly, save to make him a little grouchy."

Anna responded with a light laugh and made as if to return to her book. However, the lady continued in a whisper, "A moment ago, I was worried you were getting carsick yourself. You alright now?"

Anna nodded dumbly.

"Listen here, Missy. There are a lot of strange characters on this bus. It's hardly safe for a young woman all by herself, so you'd be welcome to sit with us if you're willing."

"Oh, I'll be fine," Anna replied with a smile. "Thank you though."

"Suit yourself," the lady said, "but keep a constant eye on your things!"

Anna nodded and returned at last to her book. Not five minutes passed before she was interrupted again, but this time it was by a violent jolt that shook the length of the bus and awoke all the sleeping passengers. The hum of the engine culminated to a deep rumble before finally giving out. Cursing under his breath, the driver eased his foot onto the brakes and steered the bus to the side of the road. He stepped out of the bus to survey the problem and returned ten minutes later wearing a grim expression.

"Well, this bus isn't going anywhere for a while," he announced with a frustrated sigh. Exclamations and angry shouts erupted among the passengers, which the driver silenced with a sharp gesture. "Easy folks. I'll call right now for a bus to pick us up. Meanwhile, there's that small town we passed a mile back. We'll have at least a couple hours before they get another bus up here, so think of this as a little rest stop."

Most of the passengers took his advice, including the elderly lady and her family. She invited Anna to join them for dinner, but she politely declined. She would have opted to remain on the bus until the new one arrived, but as the riders in black had the same idea, she decided a little walk in the woods was more appealing. Remembering the lady's advice, she carried her luggage with her.

Intending to find a nice, wooded area where she could comfortably wait for the arrival of the new bus, Anna struck a small path through the trees and followed it to a small clearing where a fallen tree was waiting to be her seat. She accepted it gratefully and contentedly resumed her book. From her position, she was unable to see the road, but she could hear cars passing periodically and was confident she would be able to hear the arrival of another bus.

Usually, with Jane Austen's assistance, it would be a fairly easy task to forget the passage of time, but the ghost of the pain that menaced her earlier lingered and grew. Nevertheless, Anna persevered with her book, determined to remove her focus from anything less pleasant. So it was not until Anna arrived at the Netherfield ball and found that the light was growing too dim to continue reading that she gasped and realized that the bus should have arrived by then. She was vaguely aware that the painful tightness in her head had all but disappeared as she quickly stuffed her book in her bag and grabbed her luggage.

Anna ran as well as she could in the fading light toward the road. When she reached it, it was as she feared. The bus had left without her. She was not a little disappointed that the nice elderly lady who had spoken to her had apparently not thought to inquire about her when she failed to return.

She strained her ears for the sound of any approaching vehicle, but after half an hour of hearing little more than wind and crickets, she hopelessly threw her bags to the ground and sat down with an angry moan.

It was then that she noticed the road was not paved.

Anna jumped back up with a start and looked about her in the dark with confusion. She could not have lost her sense of direction to the point that she had taken the wrong way entirely, and she did not remember encountering this road when she had ambled off into the woods, a whim she now dearly regretted_. I don't think I will even be able to find the town,_ Anna thought in despair.

In hopes that Susan would have returned to the university by then, she pulled out her cell phone to call her dorm. She entered the number and waited impatiently for it to process. An unfamiliar, rough tone blared in her ear insteadAnna rolled her eyes and reentered the number. Her phone was useless.

"This is not happening," Anna mumbled as she entered the number for a third time. "I'm going to New York. I _will_ be going to Columbia."

The tone was an angry screech that she was tempted to echo. Her cell phone hit the nearest tree with a loud crack.

The normally calm and collected young woman buried her head in her hands. She was not one to cry at the first sign of trouble, but she could not stop the tears then. They fell silently in her lap as she imagined a plethora of devastating consequences to this turn of events.

Thus, Anna did not observe the approach of the strangely diminutive boy who had been led there by the bluish light given off by her cell phone. He watched her weeping with a solemnity that was peculiar for his age and then reached out cautiously to tap her shoulder.

"Where did you come from?" he asked.

Startled, Anna jerked away from the boy's touch and stood up. From her great height, she saw that the boy was indeed _very_ little, perhaps no more than three years old. His voice had not sounded that young, though.

"I came from the university. I was on my way to New York City when our bus broke down." Anna felt a little funny explaining this to a three year old, but perhaps he had a home within walking distance where she could call for a taxi. She bent forward until she could peer directly into the boy's face. "Is your home nearby?"

The boy shook his head. "My family is only staying here for the summer months. Our home is in the Shire."


	8. Chapter 7

Anna looked quizzically at the little person staring wide-eyed at her. "Could you help me? I really am in a bit of trouble." When the boy nodded solemnly, she smiled and said, "Then take me to where your parents are staying."

"Are you lost?" the boy asked.

"I am afraid so." Anna glanced around her uneasily and then gazed at the boy with narrowed eyes. "What about you? Are you lost? It _is_ awfully late for someone as young as you to be out and about."

"Me?" the boy cried indignantly. "I just had my thirteenth birthday! I can find my way home." He stood up straighter in an obvious attempt to appear taller, his eyes saying quite clearly: _and you cannot!_

"Thirteen!" Anna exclaimed incredulously. She immediately decided not to take the point any farther, for her little would be savior was already vexed enough. Instead she quickly masked her surprise with an indulgent smile. "I beg your pardon, Mr…"

"Gamgee. You can call me Frodo, though. Or Fro, like my brothers and sisters do."

"Very well, Frodo. You may call me Anna."

"Anna? That's kind of a funny name."

"Is it?" Anna asked, thinking she could very well make a similar observation.

"Well, it just doesn't sound very…Elvish, but I don't know much Elvish, not like Old Mister Bilbo did. He wrote a whole book-"

"Listen Frodo," Anna interrupted as she gathered her things and piled them on her rolling case, "Why don't you tell me this story on the way to your home?"

"Alright, follow me," her companion said amiably before taking her hand and continuing his chatter. "Old Mister Bilbo knew Elvish very well because he was very fond of Elves and even lived with them for a time. Of course, I never made his acquaintance since he traveled West before I was born. More is the pity, for he would have loved to have met a pretty Elf like you."

Anna came to an abrupt halt as she listened to his seemingly innocent prattle and turned a sharp eye upon her guide who looked back at her questioningly. It seemed that wherever she went, she could not escape this dreaded subject. "What did you call me?"

Frodo looked at her in wide-eyed surprise at her sharp demand. Seeming a little upset at her swift change of mood, he merely shrugged slightly in reply.

Her face softened to see the child wince, and she knelt down before him. "You know, it's not very kind of you to name-call. If anyone one around here is an Elf, it's _you_!" Anna said gently, regarding the boy's size and rather whimsical attire with a hint of a smile.

Clamping his hand over his mouth, obviously to smother a fit of giggles, Frodo took a step backward and nodded.

"Well then, shall we continue?" Anna suggested, pointedly ignoring his amusement.

Frodo nodded again and reclaimed her hand. After a period of silence he asked, "What city did you say you were traveling to?"

"New York. I hope to be able to go to school there."

"Is it as big as Minas Tirith?"

"I don't know. I have never heard of Minas Tirith."

"Really?" Frodo asked, looking at her as if she were the silliest girl he had ever seen. "It's the biggest city in Gondor, and the King and Queen live there."

"I'm afraid I have never heard of Gondor either, and what King and Queen do you mean?"

Frodo sighed a little impatiently and proceeded to explain, "King Elessar and Queen Arwen! I am taking you to see them, because I think you must be _very _lost. They are staying in the King's house at Lake Evendim, and my parents are their guests. It's a big house, so I suppose you can be a guest too until you find your city. The Queen is an…er, I mean the Queen is a lot like you so I am sure she can help."

As Frodo's merry chatter continued unabatedly, Anna swiftly came to the conclusion that she had either hit her head very hard during the bus accident or had simply died. She also supposed she should not discount the possibility that she was being led to an Amish community. _An Amish monarchy? _

However, the feel of the woods and the air and sky seemed eerily familiar to her as they made their way around the lake Frodo had mentioned. She did not doubt she was in the midst of one of her dreams. They often caught her at unawares and at once surprised and frightened her with their realism. This time was no exception, but in none of her previous dreams did she take her cell phone with her. _At least I now know why I couldn't get through to Susan_, she thought bemusedly.

A bright star rose at that time and scattered its light upon the surface of the lake. The star was unlike any other Anna had ever seen. Her eyes were irresistibly drawn to its brilliance, and she found herself unable to turn away from it.

"Oh!" Frodo cried excitedly. "Do you see that star? The Queen told me about it. She says it's really not a star at all but a Sim-, a Silma… Oh, perhaps you should ask the Queen about it. The star has a pretty name, but I don't remember it."

"It is a very pretty star. And you are right. It is not a star but the planet Venus. I didn't think this was the time of the year for it to reach that point in the sky, not on this part of the globe anyway." A strange yearning twisted Anna's heart as she looked upon this star that was not a star. Its light seemed to whisper tauntingly to her as it tip-toed back and forth across the lake in a lively dance. _Here I am!_ it called. _And you cannot reach me!_

_Perhaps not_, Anna called back, _but why would I wish to? _

Frodo shook his head firmly. "No, that was not the name. The Queen would know it."

Anna and Frodo had not walked far before she heard voices calling from the far side of the lake. Bright gold flecks appeared in that direction, and Anna could almost make out the figures of people moving in and out of the trees. Farther along the lake, she saw the silhouette of a great structure that she assumed to be the house Frodo had described.

"People are coming, Frodo. They must be looking for you," Anna said.

Frodo looked up at her curiously. "How do you know?"

"Who else would they be looking for in the middle of the night but a wayward little boy who has lost his way?" Anna replied, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"No! I mean how do you know people are coming?"

"Can you not hear them? Their voices are becoming clearer now. I think they are calling your name. You _did _say that members of your family call you Fro, right?"

Frodo remained silent for a moment, listening. "Oh! I can hear shouts now! I don't know what they're saying, though, but I wager I'll be in hot water when I get home. Let's hurry!"

It required little effort for Anna to keep pace with the hurried strides of her strangely diminutive companion, and they reached what Anna rightly assumed to be Frodo's search party in little less than half an hour. The party consisted of an odd assortment of five people, each bearing golden lamps. At first glance, it seemed to be a group of four adults and one child who was not much taller than Frodo, but when this child rushed forward to meet them, Anna saw with astonishment that he was not a child at all.

"Frodo my lad, you were terribly naughty to worry your mama and I so!" the little person sobbed as he embraced Frodo. "What possessed you to amble off in the woods for so long and not return for supper? I was certain you had been drownded in the lake or worse!"

"Your extended outing caused quite the uproar in my household today," the tallest of the men said.

"I am sorry, Your Majesty," Frodo whimpered, his voice muffled by his father's coat.

The King smiled and said, "Apologize first to your father, Frodo, and then to your mother who is at this moment waiting in tears at the Queen's side."

Anna, who observed the great concern of everyone present, cocked an eyebrow at Frodo and whispered, "And just how long were you absent, Frodo?"

Frodo withdrew from his father and hung his head shamefully. "Well…all day long, I suppose…"

When Anna had spoken, the men turned to her as if noticing her for the first time. The King studied her with interest, and another stepped forward and held his lamp to her face. The lamp's bright light prevented Anna from seeing her observer.

After an awkward silence, the King said, "Mae govannen, mellon."

Frodo approached the King and said, "Her name is Anna, and I don't think she'll understand you. She became angry when I said she was an Elf."

The King listened to the boy without removing his eyes from Anna's face. "You are welcome here, Lady. Whence do you come?"

Anna hesitated. "From afar," she replied carefully. "It was actually I who was lost, and Frodo found me and kindly offered his assistance. I am certain he would have returned much sooner but for me."

Frodo smiled at her gratefully and affirmed her statement with a firm nod.

"I was traveling to a… distant city when I lost my way," she added.

The King seemed to ponder her words and replied, "You must indeed have journeyed from some distant country, for your speech is wholly strange to me, and I have traveled much in my lifetime. I am King Elessar, and you are come to the northern regions of my realm."

The bearer of the lamp spoke up suddenly, speaking to the king in the language that Anna gathered she was supposed to understand but did not. It was lovely, even lovelier than French, and she felt she would like to study it. Though she could not interpret the words of the speaker, she could easily detect a hint of excitement in his voice that made her all the more curious about what he was saying. Her curiosity peaked when the King turned back to her with an expression of extreme surprise.

"Well, Anna from afar, you cannot travel further this night. Though you are a stranger among us, I will welcome you in my home." The King turned his gaze to the little people who had been watching the exchange with interest. "Master Samwise, I believe it is time that you returned this lad to his mother, and I would have you take the Lady Anna to the Queen as well."

When they had departed, the King turned to his three remaining companions, and spoke in low tones to the one who had previously addressed him, "What does this mean, Glorfindel?"

"I am not entirely certain," he admitted, his expression grave.

"That this elleth should live with the light of the Trees shining from her eyes and yet deny her heritage is beyond explanation!" one of the others exclaimed.

"You speak truly, Elladan," the King replied. "Did you mark the words of the young hobbit? She had been angered when he named her as one of the Elven kind."

"And she was careful to reveal nothing of her origins. I would learn more of this matter before welcoming her as freely as you have done, Estel," the third companion advised the King.

"Nay Elrohir, I detected no malice in her countenance. What say you, Glorfindel?" the King asked.

"She presents to us no danger. If she were a bearer of evil, you would have known it, Elrohir," Glorfindel said thoughtfully. "However, it is in part this lack of taint that perplexes me. She has the air of a Noldo, yet she walks in the lands of the Exiles without even a hint of the curse that Mandos laid upon our kindred. What is more, she bears a striking resemblance to one Noldo in particular, and it troubles me to no end."

The King looked thoughtfully between his companions as he contemplated their words. "A Noldo who has slipped through the fingers of Mandos abides freely in Middle Earth. Who will solve this riddle?"

His companions did not respond. Nothing more was spoken of this matter, and the four returned in silence to the house of the King.


	9. Chapter 8

As the small party reached the great house, unseen hands pulled its large, heavy doors open. Anna winced as she stepped into a spacious, fire lit hall. When her eyes had adjusted themselves to the light, she looked down to see Frodo fidgeting and glancing about uneasily. Sympathizing with the poor boy, she patted his shoulder and offered a reassuring smile, which he eagerly returned.

"The Queen awaits you," a softly accented voice declared.

Anna looked up to see that two strangely dressed men were waiting to escort them. Frodo hung his head and trudged after his father, but Anna could not bring herself to follow. Something in the manner and appearance of the men struck her as odd and yet uncomfortably familiar. The men noticed her reluctance and gazed at her questioningly. Anna's mind began to spin sickeningly as she noted their almost medieval raiment, their starlit eyes...and the points of their ears.

As was her wont, she raised a trembling hand to smooth her hair over her shoulders. Then, she collapsed painfully to the floor.

Anna had seen the sea many times, having spent most of her life near the east coast, but the sea had never before appeared so blue and crystalline. It was almost a living thing, and it called out to her tauntingly, daring her to brave its waves and seek another shore. A heady, overwhelming desire to heed that voice swelled from her heart and warmed her limbs. Severed bonds that had long hung limp and cold from her heart all her life now stretched across the waters and urged her forward, eager for healing and reunion. Only a small voice restrained her.

"My lady, you have strayed a bit too far there and had better turn back!"

"Why?" Anna demanded. She struggled to open her eyes and saw that another movement would send her tumbling from her bed onto the floor. Anna immediately inched away from the edge of the bed.

"It is fortunate for you that I came in just now, else you would have had quite a painful awakening!"

A small, round, motherly face looked up into Anna's with a mixture of awe, curiosity, and amusement. Pressing a hand to her forehead, Anna groaned and collapsed back onto the bed.

"My lady, are you well?"

"Oh quite!" Anna wryly replied. "I just cannot seem to be able to sort dreams from reality these days!"

The tiny woman shook her head in concern and set the tray she had been holding on the bedside table.

"Thank you for looking after my Fro," she said gently. "He always did need quite a bit of looking after, much like his namesake."

Anna rose slowly from the bed and turned towards the woman. "You are Frodo's mother, then?"

She nodded and smiled.

The taller woman returned the smile and said, "I would not worry overmuch for him. He seemed very clever for a little boy and knew his way through the woods quite well. It was actually I who had lost my way."

"Thank you nevertheless," she said smilingly. "You may call me Rose."

"And you may call me Anna."

"The pendant you wear says differently."

Anna touched her necklace and froze.

"The King noticed it when he tended you. Annalië, is it not? Very pretty. I had never known Elves to shorten their names as you have..."

"I am not an Elf," Anna whispered dazedly.

Rose looked down uncomfortably. "Forgive me, Lady Anna. I was simply curious and meant no offence. The King had spoken of it, but I assure you, I make no pretense of knowing much about such matters. They are all rather far above my head. His Majesty would speak with you when you are able."

Anna found herself unable to respond.

"I have brought food if you are hungry, and I can send someone to help you dress, if you like," Rose said, hoping to draw out the silent Elf-woman.

Anna opened her mouth to thank Rose, but no words would come. Rose watched her anxiously for several minutes then quietly excused herself, mumbling something about speaking to the Queen.

Taking little notice of Rose's exit, Anna stood and moved to the small window near her bed. The sunlight that glittered through the towering trees was the ripened gold of afternoon. The prospect afforded her a partial view of the lake, and she spied a few people about the grounds. It was a charming view, certainly not out of the ordinary, but it was not Pennsylvania.

"No indeed," a lilting voice declared in harmony to Anna's thoughts.

Startled, Anna turned on her heel and found herself standing before a dark, ethereal beauty that could only be the Queen. She was dressed simply in a shimmering gray that complimented her eyes, but she wore a silver circlet upon her brow that resembled the one the King had worn. The Queen's gaze was searching, and Anna somehow sensed that she was struggling to conceal her curiosity.

"I am Arwen Undómiel, and you are welcome to my home...Annalië."

Anna's eyebrows drew together in mingled surprise and confusion. "Why do you choose to call me by that name?"

"The name is yours, is it not? It is your mother-name, or so says one who claims to have knowledge of this matter. If you have a father-name, I know it not."

"Mother? My...mother?" Anna's knees gave beneath her, and she would have sunk to the floor but for the Queen who came to her side and supported her.

"I know you are plagued with many questions at this moment," the Queen said gravely but with gentleness, "and soon I will take you to one who may have answers, but not now. Answers can wait until you are better able to receive them."

As the Queen assisted her to a chair, Anna asked, "Who is this person you speak of?"

The Queen seemingly hesitated for a moment before answering. "He is Glorfindel, a lord of our people and among the greatest of those who remain on this side of the Sea. You need not stir from your room this evening if you are unwell, but I will send for you on the morrow. If you require anything, my maids will attend you."

"You are very kind to welcome me here," Anna said in a shaking voice, "but I really must try to return to the place I came from."

The Queen regarded her with a peculiar expression. "When the time for that journey comes, I will grant you leave to depart."

Anna remained in her room that evening, more for fear of making any more shocking discoveries than for need of rest. By the time the Queen's promised summons came, Anna had slipped on a dress that had been provided for her. She had noticed that her things were carefully placed at the foot of her bed, but she thought it best not to wear any of the clothes she had brought since thus far they seemed rather out of place. She infinitely preferred to escape too much notice whenever possible.

To Anna's relief, it was little Frodo who came to fetch her and bring her before the King and Queen. Upon seeing his new friend wearing a gown instead of the strange, not to mention much less feminine, traveling clothes she had worn when he first met her, Frodo grinned sheepishly and exclaimed, "Oh, you look so pretty!"

Anna could not help but return his grin. "I bet you have sisters." Frodo looked at her with mingled puzzlement and disgust but finally nodded. Anna laughed at his expression and said, "I have simply noticed that you speak very well with girls for a young boy, and I am sure that does not come without practice."

"I don't tell _them_ they're pretty," Frodo insisted with a snort as he took her hand and led her from the room. "It's not as much fun when they already believe it. My oldest sister is the worst of all of them. She has always put on airs for being the only one in our family born with golden hair like the Elves, but now that the Queen has made her one of her hand maidens, she's almost unbearable! I do tell my mother she is pretty, though."

"And she is," Anna concurred. "I met her yesterday. She is very kind as well, like you."

Frodo beamed at his companion and skipped along at her side to keep pace with her long strides. Anna turned her gaze from her youthful friend to look about her. She noticed that they were receiving quite a few bemused stares from passersby, and if they happened to catch her eye, they would pause to bow respectfully to her. As she observed this, it occurred to her that she had not the faintest idea how she was to conduct herself when brought before the King and Queen. However, she was left little time to consider this, for Frodo, knowing his way around quite well, soon brought her to a vast dining hall where a great assortment of people were gathered for the midday meal. It seemed an informal gathering though, as people came and went as they pleased.

Anna followed Frodo to the head of the table where she saw the King and Queen talking and laughing easily with those around them. She found that her anxiety over her reception was needless, as her hosts simply rose upon seeing her and motioned her to a seat near them. After various polite inquiries about her health and accommodations, the Queen hailed a servant to attend her and promised they would speak at a later time.

Many faces turned to her in curiosity, and some even attempted to speak with her in the strange but lovely language she had heard before. Anna offered an embarrassed smile and explained as politely as she could that she understood them not at all.

However, one continued in his attempt to speak to her in his language until a clear, melodious voice intervened, "Nay Erestor, you will fare no better with Quenya, I fear. Our guest comes from a very distant country."

Anna turned in surprise to see a strikingly handsome - she supposed he was an "Elf"- noble smiling kindly at her. His features struck her as strange but beautiful. His hair was so golden that one would not think to use the word blond to describe it, and his eyes were a silver-gray, much like those of other "Elves" she had seen in this world.

Erestor raised an eyebrow at his friend as if to ask, _how distant?_ "Forgive me, Lady," he said to Anna, "but you must understand that you present quite a puzzle to us. I for one have never met one of our kind who could not speak our native tongue. I am Erestor, and I believe you have met Glorfindel."

Anna glanced at the golden-haired Elf who was Glorfindel, the very one with whom the Queen wished her to speak, and said, "No I have not."

"Not properly anyway," Glorfindel said. "I was a member of the young halfling's search party."

"You mean Frodo?" Anna asked, frowning at the Elf-lord's choice of words. "He seemed a whole person to me." She winced at the awkward pause that followed this remark, though she did not regret it, and quickly said, "I am pleased to meet you both. I am...My name is Annalië."

"You claim that name as your own, then?" Glorfindel asked with a grave smile. "I wonder if you will also claim the history that accompanies it."

Anna made an attempt at light laughter, but it sounded forced and nervous in her ears. "I am not sure how to respond to that, so I won't."

"You needn't," he replied, "but if you would hear me speak more plainly of this matter, let us meet later this evening. The King has offered the use of his private study," Anna must have looked somewhat skeptical at this suggestion because Glorfindel quickly added in a lower voice, "Where we can speak without interruption."

Anna nodded slowly as she felt she had little choice and then returned her attention to her meal, silently contemplating what she had learned.

Erestor, who had listened to their conversation with unveiled confusion, addressed Glorfindel, "Perhaps, as Lord Elrond's former counselor, I should-"

"Nay, that will not be necessary, mellon!" Glorfindel interrupted him with a grin. "If we have need of your services, I will summon you."

Erestor laughingly shrugged with mild regret for his unsatisfied curiosity before turning to his other companions.

Anna made a rather sullen walking partner as she and Glorfindel made their way to the aforementioned study later that evening. A knot of anxiety was slowly forming in Anna's stomach as she inwardly considered whether she really desired to hear what the Elf-lord had to say.

Nevertheless, she dutifully followed him to a comfortable room that reminded her of an antique book store not far from the university. The furniture was dark and worn but well cared for, and books and parchments were stored in every possible space afforded by the bookcases. Walls without bookcases were covered with exquisite tapestries similar to ones Anna had once seen while visiting the French medieval city of Carcassonne.

Glorfindel gestured Anna towards a chair and claimed one for himself after she was seated. Casually leaning back against his chair, he regarded Anna with a long, measuring gaze. "If I may say, Annalië, your coming here is nothing short of extraordinary."

"Yes, I believe we would refer to that as 'a given' where I come from," Anna replied with an arched brow, "but I hope less extraordinary circumstances will be required for my return home."

Glorfindel smiled. "Nothing more extraordinary than a ship on the western sea, I assure you."

Anna looked quizzically at him and replied, "I believe we have two very different understandings of 'home'. I certainly did not arrive here by ship."

"No," he conceded, "but if you desire to return to your true home, the Sea is the only way."

"What if my 'true home' is not where I really want to go?"

"Annalië," he said with a hint of reproach, "how much longer are you going to pretend to be nothing more than an ignorant girl lost in a world not her own?"

Anna regarded the Elf lord with something akin to shock and sheepishly acknowledged to herself that she had underestimated him.

When Anna did not respond, Glorfindel sighed. For a moment, he turned his eyes from her to some distant point, seeming to debate something within himself. Then, he began slowly, "I will tell you a story if you will listen. It is a strange story, one I heard long ago before I returned to Middle Earth. At the end of the First Age of this world, the first Great Enemy of the Free Peoples was overthrown and his servants scattered or destroyed. With the decline of his dark influence - I say decline because his evil has never been wholly removed from the world - an unlooked for and I daresay grievous discovery was made. It all happened in Tirion, a fair city west of the sea where yet dwell remnants of your kindred. One night, a deafening cry of the deepest pain imaginable shattered the peace that had reigned in Tirion for centuries. There were those that heard it who wept openly and others who cowered in fear. And then, when the dread tidings came, most refused to believe."


	10. Chapter 9

It had been many years since Tirion had witnessed such a night. The moon and stars offered little solace, for they had shroud themselves behind layers of mist that fell softly upon the irised towers and fountains as if to cover a freshly opened wound. People stood uncertainly in small groups about the streets and would occasionally pass like gray shades before the threshold of Mahtan's house where his daughter waited for her father to return. They waited also.

Nerdanel kept vigil alone beside an empty hearth. Her father had offered to start a fire before he left, but she had firmly refused saying only that she would not have a fire this eve. He did not press her but left hastily to execute the errand with which she had burdened him.

When a murmur arose among those who hovered outside the house, Nerdanel knew her father had returned. She did not raise her eyes from the black hearth when Mahtan stepped through the door, but a rising tension was evident in her features.

"They will hear you," was all he said but his words were sufficient to renew life to Nerdanel's limbs, for she immediately sprung to his side, and he led her out of his house and through the streets of Tirion. A silent gray host followed them.

One by one, Vala and Valier solemnly made their way to their places in the assembly, slowly creating the Ring where many a doom had been declared through the ages.

Last came Mahtan supporting a trembling Nerdanel at his side, her countenance seemingly weak but concealing a terrible strength fueled by a rage yet to be unleashed. Some among the onlookers noted the strange light that shone from her eyes and wondered if she did not look as Fëanor had at the height of his madness.

Manwë himself was then heard throughout the assembly, the power of his voice a command in itself that all others should fall silent. "Nerdanel the Wise, daughter of Mahtan, for what cause did you demand our audience? What grievance would you bring before us?"

Hearing herself addressed, Nerdanel gently pushed away from her father and drew herself up fully to meet the eyes of the Vala. The words she spoke then were long remembered among the people of Aman, for they revealed a doom unforeseen by all save perhaps Mandos, but he as always kept a resolute silence. Many wept to hear her tale, for it proceeded from a heart long accustomed to grievous wounds but not quite equal to the burden placed upon it then.

"Many were the crimes committed by my kindred, but I profess to all who hear me, many more were the crimes committed_ against_ them; and the most heinous of all has now been revealed!" Here her voice broke into tortured sobs, and she fell to her knees as her father knelt beside her and offered his strength.

"Speak, Nerdanel! Speak and let us share this burden if we can," was Varda's gentle command.

Nerdanel looked up sharply to meet Varda's unbearably bright gaze, and when the light of her eyes met those of the elleth, it was reflected as a raging inferno. "Yea, I will speak!" she cried. "My husband and sons I have lost irrevocably, lost at the hands of the fiend once numbered among you. At his fall, a shield of darkness was removed from my eyes that I might know at last another evil wrought by his malice." Her voice softened suddenly and assumed a toneless quality that sent cold shudders through the frames of all who heard her. "All because I had kept the sweet knowledge within my heart. Not even Fëanor knew our spirits nourished the fëar of two babes, not one. And names I had given them in secret ere my arms received them, names that I had wrought-"

Here Mahtan grasped his daughter's shoulder to recall her from the cloud of grieving madness that had briefly seized her mind. Nerdanel's sudden intake of breath and her firm grasp on the hand at her shoulder assured him he had succeeded.

Tears fell once more from her swollen eyes as she continued in a clearer voice, "When for the fifth time I was with child, I bore a son all remember as Curufinwë, but I tell you, a daughter I birthed as well. Annalië I had named her long before her birth, yet ere she could receive a father name – nay! Ere she could be presented to her father at all! – by foul craft, a servant of Morgoth spirited my child away!"

The elleth was once more able to stand independent from her father, and she clenched her fists before the Valar, shaking one with all the fury of a tormented soul.

"Long before Fëanor ever conceived of the Silmarils, we were made victims of this crime, though unknowingly! Yea, many years ere my husband hearkened to the lies that spread among our people and guilt tainted his fëa, he deserved justice and vengeance! The debt to his family came first and remains to be paid! I demand that the stain upon our House be removed, for surely the wrongs we suffered outweigh the crimes of my husband and sons!"

It was then that Mandos spoke, his voice doing much to lessen the wrath in Nerdanel's gaze, "So say you with the wrath of a grieving mother, no more and no less than that of any mother of this age whose son or daughter had been unjustly torn from her, one way or another. Be comforted! Not by will of Vala or Valier, but through the mysterious workings of Eru himself, your demand will be granted and all debts paid, though not in a manner any will expect."

The voice of Mandos, as deep and as vast as the halls for which he is named, seemed to draw the last of Nerdanel's strength from her, and she crumpled to the ground at her father's side.

All who were present to hear the dread account were shocked and grieved by the revelation. There were those who feared that Mahtan's daughter was fey, driven to madness at last by the heavy misfortunes that had befallen all whom she had loved. However, the testimonies of Nerdanel's former handmaidens, those who had been in attendance at the birth of the twins, quickly dispelled that theory. They too had fallen under the dark enchantment of Morgoth's servant who had sought to wholly erase the knowledge that a daughter of Fëanor and Nerdanel had ever existed.

"For years upon years, Nerdanel's tale was pondered, discussed, debated, even disputed, but to no avail. Morgoth's purpose could neither be conceived nor revealed, and no trace of Annalië was ever found – until now."

Such was the power of the Elf Lord's voice that it had lulled Anna into a sort of calm stupor and rendered her capable of hearing his relation without excess of emotion, even when her name was mentioned. His latter words, however, broke the spell, and shock – not to mention disbelief – was painfully evident in his listener.

"Annalië Fëanoriel, you are among the greatest of mysteries yet unsolved by our people," Glorfindel said with a wry yet strangely comforting smile. "I advise you to make for the havens with all possible speed and take the westward voyage, for your mother has waited overlong for any sign of hope, and your presence would greatly ease her suffering."

Anna raised a cold palm to her forehead and closed her eyes in an attempt to calm the dizzying storm that raged between her temples. Sadness, frustration, and anger threatened to spill from her eyes as hot tears, but she stubbornly refused to release them.

"You must understand," Anna struggled to say, "that I haven't really come to terms with…I am not entirely convinced that, well, I'm not caught within a dream or something."

Glorfindel nodded in understanding and sighed as his eyes drifted to some distant point beyond the walls of the study. "You will find that, as time passes and the years become heavier burdens to bear, our people are just as likely to live in dream as in reality. Who is to say that there is a very great distinction between the two? For us, they are but realms of thought, and wisdom can be found in either."

Pausing as he noted the strange, almost puzzled expression on Anna's face, the Elf Lord laughed and said, "But then, you are still quite young in the reckoning of our people, are you not? Yes, I see it clearly in your eyes, though it is beyond my ability to comprehend."

"Did my mother have auburn hair?" Anna asked abruptly.

"Auburn?"

"Was her hair red?"

"Yes, her hair was indeed red," Glorfindel answered softly, "which is a rarity among Elves, as are your own brown tresses, I might add."

"But my – Curufinwë? – his was not. His hair was dark."

"Yes, he favored his father, as do you." Glorfindel's eyes furrowed, and he leaned forward to look intently at his companion. "Only three of your brothers inherited your mother's hair."

Anna nodded slightly in reply and took a deep, shuddering breath before venturing to ask her next question, "Who is Angrod?"

"You have heard of him?"

"I have seen him as I have seen the others – in dreams," Anna explained self-consciously. "Didn't you just say we often live in dreams?"

"Yes," Glorfindel admitted, "and I wonder if your kin have beheld you in their dreams as well. Perhaps you have met them in spirit; it is possible for us. Why do you ask of Angrod?"

Anna colored deeply and shrugged in feigned indifference, but the kind Elf Lord overlooked her discomfort and said, "He is the youngest but one of the sons of Finarfin, your father's younger half-brother."

"My cousin?!" Anna gasped.

"Indeed. You have many, you know," Glorfindel remarked with no small amount of amusement. "Does this distress you?"

Anna tried in vain to stifle the flurry of emotions that assailed her upon hearing this revelation while scolding herself for her folly. Was she distressed? Why should she be? Why was it so important for her to know that what she had believed to be a figment of her imagination was a living, breathing person?

"Did he die?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"He and those under his command were overcome by the forces of Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, in the Dagor-Bragollach." In answer to the question in Anna's eyes he added, "The Battle of Sudden Flame. They were caught at unawares by a great barrage of fire and a host of dragons and balrogs. I did not witness the battle, but songs are often sung of his bravery and long endurance ere he fell."

After a long silence, he observed, "You do not inquire after the fates of your own brothers."

"I can guess well enough what probably happened to them based on what you've told me so far," Anna replied wearily. "They didn't survive either?"

"No, but those tales can perhaps wait for a later time. You have heard enough of our people's woes for today and would do better to look forward – and West," Glorfindel pointedly added.

Later that evening, Anna stumbled into her chamber and, once she had firmly closed the door behind her, slid to the floor and rested her head upon her knees. For a while, naught could be heard from her save shallow breaths and occasionally a deep sigh.

When at last she lifted her head, the first object to catch her eye was the travel bag she miraculously still had in her possession. With scarcely a thought, she dove for the bag, ripped it open and proceeded to take careful inventory of its contents. Each item, from her toothbrush to her pajamas, seemed to suddenly hold a tremendous value, and she handled the most mundane article as she would anything that was extremely dear to her.

She soon came upon the iPod, and when she recalled Susan's thoughtful gift, the tears that had long been held at bay fell in streams from her cheeks. Heedless of her tears, Anna activated the iPod, slipped on her earphones and scrolled until she found Susan's play list. When the opening music to an obnoxious Cyndi Lauper song accosted her ears, Anna giggled like the little girl she never was.

Sifting through the tracks Susan had undoubtedly found great enjoyment in compiling, Anna was not surprised to find that her selections continued along the same vein: boisterous, flamboyant songs that normally would have annoyed her to no end. However, she could not be annoyed at the flood of poignant recollections that each song stirred from her memory, and she relived each with relish as if they belonged to a part of herself she would be forced to relinquish forever.

Anna soon became lost in her reminiscences and would have drifted to sleep, but Susan's music came to an abrupt stop. Anna examined her iPod and recalled with a groan that she had not charged it before leaving school. She had intended to do so when she reached New York.


	11. Chapter 10

The possibility of Anna taking a voyage by ship to some mysterious land in the West was not mentioned again by Glorfindel, and Anna herself never broached the subject with anyone. She was still not without hope that she could return to her former life and thus was reluctant to make any permanent or long-range plans.

According to the knowledge of most who abided in the King's house, Anna was content to remain within the safe confines of her chamber and would only emerge for the midday meal. At that time, she spoke rarely but would often try to attend to the conversations around her. When she was unable to understand the languages spoken, she amused herself by observing the speakers' expressions and body language.

Little Fro and his siblings, finding Anna a bit too reclusive and solemn for their tastes, soon lost interest in the newest addition to the King's household. Only Fro would occasionally acknowledge her with a wave or a shy smile. For reasons of their own, few of the Elves ventured to exchange more than polite civilities with the strange Elf-woman. Thus, Anna had no difficulty keeping to herself, which was more to her liking anyhow.

Unbeknownst to all but a few guards, Anna awoke each morning long before sunrise to run a five-mile circuit about the grounds as had been her routine at school. She took advantage of her runs to explore and familiarize herself with the land. As she struck different paths throughout the countryside, she nursed a small hope that she would somehow stumble upon her home much like she had stumbled upon this world. At times, when Anna allowed her mind to wander, she almost fancied herself back at the university running one of the campus trails. For about a fortnight, she continued this routine, trying as best as she could to pass the time.

Anna noted in wonder that her terrible migraines had utterly ceased to plague her. In fact, she had not realized the continual pain she had endured until her head was completely relieved of it. In the back of her mind, she tried to link the pain to the event of her journey – if it could be called that – and entertained the silly thought of achieving a vicious migraine that would send her back home. In more somber moods, she also wondered if she was just waiting idly in the midst of a grand illusion until her body decided to wake itself from a coma. She would rather believe anything other than that she was actually born in this medieval fantasy thousands of years ago and that she would have to make the best of it.

At the end of a monotonous fortnight, one of the Queen's maids intercepted her as she was returning from a morning run. With brows raised at the sight of Anna's running pants and sweatshirt, the maid led her to the chambers of her mistress.

The Queen smiled upon seeing the other Elf-woman, and seemed to take no note of her strange attire and cheeks glowing from exercise. She instead motioned Anna to a seat beside her and dismissed her maid.

"You know you are welcome in my home for as long as you wish?" Arwen questioned her. When Anna nodded slightly, she continued, "I am aware that the Lord Glorfindel has bidden you take the westward journey. If you are willing to heed his counsel, I have procured for you a place on one of Círdan's ships, which were crafted to make such a voyage. The ship will depart at Midsummer, therefore it would be necessary for you to leave Lake Evendim within two month's time."

For a long while, Anna said nothing. When the decision she had attempted to delay was presented to her, she had yet to find the courage to choose her path.

"Your mind is clouded with uncertainty and fear – uncertainty as to your fate and fear of your destiny. Annalië of the House of Finwë, I deem you will never find what you seek on these shores. If it is possible to retrace the path that brought you to Arda, only the Lords of the West will know the way," Arwen counseled gently, perceiving all too clearly the vain hopes of the young elleth.

Anna dared to meet the penetrating eyes of the Queen and searched there for anything that would help her make her decision. Strangely, having lived for many years among the gruff and untrusting people of New York City, she found the sincerity in Arwen's gaze to be sufficient.

Arwen was quick to remark the light of resolve that flashed in Anna's eyes and nodded smilingly. "I will send a messenger this day to Mithlond."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was after Arwen had presented the means – and sound logic - of making the westward voyage when Anna's perception of her situation began a gradual evolution. As time passed, she ceased to think of returning home as a possibility of the immediate future and allowed herself to consider her supposed position in the realm of Arda in strictly hypothetical terms. Then, without conscious decision, strictly hypothetical slowly solidified to a sort of reality; and so, when her days at Evendim were waning, her thoughts were more likely to dwell on finding what was left of her family than on the petition she intended to make before the Lords of the West.

Having a plan laid before her, Anna felt infinitely more at ease, even to the point of choosing to spend more time among the people of the King's household. It was not as awkward as she feared, and she found herself highly enjoying the stories the elder Elf lords were willing to share in a language she could understand – stories of Arda's birth and history. It amused her that she theoretically would have experienced much of the history of this world herself had not fate intervened.

Hearing the tragic history of her own family, not to mention the tenuous position her father and brothers held in the regard of the Eldar, was a sobering experience. Anna easily gathered that she must have inherited a greater share of her mother's temperament and regretted it not at all. She smiled though at the thought of her very own feuding family – Susan had argued with her several times over her wish for a larger family, saying her own extensive family did nothing but snipe at one another on holidays and ignore each other the rest of the year. _At least Susan's father never held a sword to her uncle's throat. I bet she would agree that I've one-upped her in the weird, dysfunctional family department._

Knowledge of the Noldor's tumultuous history led Anna to wonder how she would be received at the end of her upcoming voyage. If she understood things correctly, her ship would drop anchor at a harbor on the Bay of Eldamar, not so very far from where the first kinslaying had been committed. What kind of treatment should she expect if the Telerin Elves were to discover that her father was the infamous Noldo prince who caused the bloodbath on their shores, however long ago? Scenes from one of her least favorite books, _A Tale of Two Cities_, danced before her mind's eye, but she brushed them away with a snort at her own foolishness. Surely she could presume that the Teleri would be a bit more civilized than an eighteenth century French mob.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

When Fro realized that the strange Elf-woman he had found would be leaving Evendim in just a few days and Middle-earth shortly after, he made a point to find her, knowing from hearing his mother speak with the Queen that Anna would not be able to return. After finding her room empty, he made inquiries among the ladies who had attended her during her stay. Receiving little assistance from them, he wandered about the halls until he happened upon her in a room that seemed to serve as a library. It was small but only seemed so because books and scrolls walled the room on all but one side, which was covered with tapestries.

Anna was pouring over a large, worn tome under the guidance of Erestor. Her brow was furrowed, and every once in a while she raked her hand roughly through her long mane of hair. Fro had witnessed the same behavior in Elanor many times when he or little Goldilocks pestered her.

With hobbit stealth, Fro padded to the table where the two Elves worked and eased himself onto the empty chair at Anna's right elbow. He tucked his legs beneath him to afford a better view of the object of their study and recognized Elvish script on the ancient leaves of the tome.

"Your vowels are too tightly pronounced, and you apply too much stress on the Rs. Relax the muscles of your mouth," Erestor advised.

"I told you it would be better that I learn the phonetics first. My first impulse when reading a foreign word is to pronounce it as I would a French word," Anna retorted in frustration.

"These are not _foreign_ words. Quenya should have been your native tongue," was Erestor's clipped reply.

Anna sighed. "Sindarin has been much easier."

"I doubt many who dwell in Tirion speak Sindarin. I would advise that you continue your study of Quenya for now." Erestor took up a dry quill and used it to indicate a line of text. "Try again."

When she read the Elvish expression aloud, even Fro recognized the strange accent in her speech. His muffled giggle earned a frown from Erestor and a sheepish grin from Anna who welcomed Fro as a diversion from her tedious language lesson.

"Perhaps you could use a break, Lord Erestor – you know, from the tedium of my ignorance?" Anna suggested, her grin becoming a bit sly. Erestor's baffled expression induced her to add, "I could use a momentary diversion myself from these studies. Do I have your leave?"

"Of course," Erestor responded quickly, "but take heed that you have yet to make satisfactory progress in your _native_ tongue and your departure draws nigh."

Anna shrugged as she rose from her chair. "Immersion has always proven to be the most effective school of _foreign_ language. I would not worry overmuch on my account."

Anna fled the stuffy room before Erestor had the opportunity to reply. Fro, following closely, frowned at the sound of her chuckling. "Are you not afraid to go into the West, Lady Annalië?" he asked.

"No. Why should I be? Is it a fearsome place?" Anna asked as she led them outdoors and toward the gardens.

Fro shrugged. "I was a little frightened when we left the Shire to come to the King's house. I had never left before. You will be going all the way across the Sea, and you will not be allowed to come back."

"No one has said I cannot come back. It does not matter, though. As soon as I discover the way home, I shall leave anyway. I want to go to Columbia, get an advanced degree in physics and do something with it, do something with my life." Anna said, ignoring Fro's puzzled frown.

The two settled beneath an ash tree and gazed upward at its emerald canopy.

"The elves do very little around here, Fro. I do not think I would ever want to stay for very long." Anna said.

"But Father said you _are_ going home, to the West." Fro said.

Anna shook her head. "The West is not my home. My real home is farther away, if you can believe it. I am taking the voyage because someone there may help me find the way back. I suppose I also want to see if I really do have family there."

"What if you do find your family?" Fro asked. "What will you do?"

Anna shrugged. "I will still go home. Children grow up and move away from their families, do they not?"

"Not so far that they cannot visit. We see my grandfather all the time. He wouldn't come with us on our travels, though. He would never leave the Shire," Fro said.

"I suppose I could change my mind once I arrive," Anna said. "If I have learned anything from this experience, it is that what I say I want and will do means very little to the powers that be."

Fro smiled. "I am going to miss the strange things you say."


	12. Chapter 11

Anna was no stranger to sea voyages. When her adoptive parents still lived, she had accompanied them on a Caribbean cruise. She remembered how ill her mother became when their ship reached its first port of call at Grand Cayman. While Anna marveled how the ocean currents rocked the great cruise ship, her mother confined herself to their stateroom and insisted that Anna and her father enjoy their planned excursion without her.

Cìrdan's ship was much smaller than a cruise ship, but contrary to Anna's expectations, it advanced towards its destination as smoothly as a pat of butter glides over a warm dinner roll. Occasionally Anna peered out over the water, but a dense fog prevented her from seeing very far.

"How certain are we that the ship has even left the Havens? I've not felt any movement at all for some time," Anna observed to an Elf close by.

The Elf smiled. "There is no reason why Ossë would not allow Cìrdan's ships to sail the Straight Road peacefully."

Anna returned his smile uneasily.

Then he returned his gaze to the west and suddenly gripped her arm, pointing towards a growing light in the distance. "Look there!" he said. "You should not miss your first glimpse of the Emerald Isle."

Anna emerged from the haze of her thoughts just as light broke through the fog to unleash a barrage of colors the likes of which she had never seen. She felt her eyes must have been starved in the modern world as they fed hungrily upon the sight of the justly named green country. Her companion must have been likewise affected for he shared her silence. Others on the ship suddenly broke into song. Anna wondered at them until she heard a chorus of voices rush forward to meet them from the approaching shore. An assembly of Elves waited there with hands raised in welcome.

Of its own volition, Anna's hand reached up to pull the hood of her traveling cloak over her head. She turned to glance at her belongings where they were secured to the ship and bit her lip. Her rolling case looked odd among the parcels brought onboard by the other passengers.

The Elves around her began to drift to the area of the ship where they would soon descend the boarding ramp. Anna was one of the last to follow and one of the last to step foot onto the ramp. She cringed at the noise her rolling case made as she pulled it across the wooden planks, however, she need not have worried. A swell of joyful voices rose as the ship's party met the assembly on shore, and few glanced in her direction.

As she left the dock and her foot touched the soil of the Blessed Realm for the first time, she gazed awestruck along the beach. The sand was nearly pink and glittered unnaturally. She could not resist the temptation to kneel down and run her fingers through it. Her eyes were not deceived, for what appeared to be tiny faceted gems mingled among the grains caught the light as she held a handful of sand aloft to be carried by the wind. The line of green that began where the beach ended promised many more such visual pleasures. Anna could see flowering trees with slender, silver trunks and lush grasses promising a soft welcome to unshod feet.

When she could tear her eyes from her natural surroundings, Anna turned her attention to the scenes unfolding around her. She curiously watched the many tearful embraces, the claps on the back and the laughter knowing she witnessed reunions that had been thousands of years in the making. Yet, as she passed among clusters of rejoicing Elves and found herself ever closer to the outskirts of the group, her memory drifted to another time when the question '_Why am I here?'_ crept to the forefront of her thoughts and gorged itself upon her last shreds of confidence. She had been a university freshman inadvertently caught in a tangle of sorority hopefuls, but Susan had been there to rescue her and be her friend. Who would rescue her now?

"You are here."

Anna stiffened. Whatever she expected to be waiting for her upon her arrival, it was not this – not _him_.

She felt a hand gently take the handle of her rolling bag and another clasp her arm above her elbow to pull her around towards the source of the voice. When she faced the speaker, she could not bring herself to raise her eyes above a pair of worn traveling boots, and she intently studied the simple but elegant designs in the leather.

"I knew it would be so. The knowledge of it brought me from Mandos' halls at last. Even so, I cannot help but be astonished to find you living and breathing before me," he continued.

When he brushed aside the hood of her cloak, she had no choice but to meet his achingly bright eyes which hungrily absorbed every detail of her face. Anna almost felt guilty when she witnessed the joy and wonder on his. At the moment, she could conjure up little more than embarrassment and anxiety. Yet she could not deny an inexplicable longing to satisfy the hunger in his gaze. It terrified her.

"You are Angrod then?" Anna whispered.

He nodded, smiling at her knowledge of his name. An endless number of questions rushed to Anna's lips, but the one that reached them first was: "How do you know to speak to me in English?"

Angrod laughed lightly and took her hand. It did not occur to her to protest.

"You have always spoken to me in Westron, and I have always taken it in stride," he said.

"I have, have I?" Anna considered the implications of his statement and felt warm blood saturate her cheeks. "Sorry, I did not expect to find you waiting for me, much less behaving as if we are longtime friends."

"I would imagine not. _You_ did not have the benefit of a Vala guarding over your fëa for thousands of years, counseling you over your perplexing visions and dreams."

Anna pressed a hand to her forehead. "Forgive me. I need to sit down somewhere – anywhere – but preferably in the shade. Everything is… so bright."

Angrod placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. "Come, the trees there will afford a comfortable place for you to rest. Perhaps…," Angrod frowned, "perhaps I was wrong to present myself so soon."

Seeing the concern in his gaze, Anna forced her emotions under control. "I'm sorry. You would understand if you knew…"

Gently tugging her hand, Angrod led her to the wooded area that had previously caught her attention. "Do not apologize. I hope someday we will understand one another very well."

Collapsing beneath the shade of the trees, Anna felt instant relief. The trunk she leaned against was surprisingly comfortable and seemed molded to the contours of her spine, and the grass was cool beneath her fingers. She idly traced the delicate petals of a white blossom at her side and did not look up when her companion sat beside her. He noticed her reserve and sighed.

"I think it is only right that I be absolutely candid with you," Anna began. She made every effort to steady her voice. "I grew up in a very different world than yours. I suppose you would say it is a world of Men. I always thought I was one of them, just different. I never knew why until I came here."

"There is no knowledge of our people there," Angrod said.

"No," Anna said, meeting his eyes.

"In spite of that, you miss your former home."

"Yes."

Angrod plucked the flower Anna had been studying and regarded it intently. "How old are you, Annalië?"

"When I was an infant I was placed in a home for orphaned children in the year 1954. That would make me around 53 years old."

Angrod winced, whether at her age or the circumstances of her childhood she was uncertain. "It is as I thought. You have only just come of age. You are far too young to understand the weariness that would await you should you have remained in a world of Men."

Anna bit her lip and raked her hand roughly through her hair. "I intend to ask the Lords of the West if there is a way back."

Angrod looked sharply at her. "And if there is?"

"I do not know."

The Elf Lord looked away. Anna could not read his expression, but she pondered his words. She remembered her grief at the passing of her father, then her mother. It was only after their deaths and the settling of their affairs that she began to attend a university and befriend others. Then she would have gone on to Columbia for a few years and met other people. What would have happened after graduation? She would eventually have to break contact with anyone she met in college and move to a new place to find work. When enough years passed, she would have to move again. Soon she would have to somehow falsify her identification or else become suspect. All the while, she would not be able to risk anything more than a few casual acquaintances, each of whom she would lose over time.

"I will be candid with you in turn," Angrod said with a sigh. "I would have remained in the Halls of Mandos with my brother Aegnor but for you. Though you may regard me as a figment of your dreams, I love you as the elleth who would have been my wife had not a great evil come between us; but as you say, you have a different understanding of what you have seen. I will not blame you for it, though I cannot deny that it grieves me. Neither will I speak further on this matter if it causes you discomfort."

Anna nodded slowly. She glanced down the beach and saw that most of the Elves had moved on to their homes. The sun was slowly disappearing behind the mountains in the west. "Where will I go now?" she asked softly.

"I would take you with me to Tirion if you are willing. The journey will take some time, but perhaps time is what you need."

Anna paused before responding. Something deep within that she struggled to ignore urged her to accept, eager to be near this Elf lord who has shared in her most intimate and secret dreams, who might have been her husband. However, what she chose to believe was that the opportunity to uncover the mysteries of her past and learn of her family was what encouraged her to accompany Angrod.

"I will come with you, Angrod," she said. His answering smile was infectious, and she could not help returning it. "But why did my own mother not come? I was told that she is still living."

"She is, and she is the only other one of our people on this side of the sea who knows of your voyage hither. She waits for you. I promised her I would see to your safe return."

Anna frowned. "Is she unable to travel?"

Angrod stood and extended a hand to Anna which she accepted. "Nerdanel will not come to the Bay of Eldamar."


End file.
